Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are in the middle of a housing crisis. I am not advocating that we throw up slums. I am advocating that we put up good-quality, compact, energy-rated houses, or apartments if they are appropriate. We need between six and eight simple designs. I saw houses like the one I lived in as a child in Donegal and other parts of the country. There are houses like the ones in Crumlin and Drimnagh I drive past in Sligo and Portlaoise. I have seen them. They look the same. They have the same design. There are some in Wexford and Tullamore. They are all over the place. My point is that we cannot have a rigmarole where designs have to be approved. I think 7% of the cost of a house is architectural design. If it is 2%, it is crazy. Why are we spending on individualising it? We must change our thinking on this.