Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Condon for the clarification. I will move on to a couple of more direct questions. The adaptability of buildings is always something at which we should be looking. We are all growing older. We will all have different needs as we go through life. It makes perfect sense that when someone is designing a building, he or she designs it with that adaptability in mind. That has been spoken about at length today. I cannot remember exactly but there is a figure of 10% or 20% for extra floor space. It is possibly 10% for UD+ and 20% for UD++.

It was also mentioned in one of the witnesses' opening statements that there are no additional costs. Can someone explain to me how an extra 10% or 20% does not mean extra cost? I think this is the crux. Deputy Duffy started to drill into this. Every developer always wants to maximise the amount of profit he or she can get back on the number of units, as is his or her nature. That is generally how development works. How does the 20% extra floor space not add up to extra cost?