Mr. Terry Sheridan:

There is provision under the Planning and Development Act. This is the legislation and it is there for a good reason. Persons operating different types of businesses have to have specific types of planning permission. There is an obligation on them to adhere to the law. The reality is there are numbers of properties out there that do not have the planning permission and have been operating in excess of seven years. Because of the Statute of Limitations, local authorities cannot take enforcement action against them. However, they are still unauthorised. Our advice would always be that they should regularise their affairs by applying for the appropriate permission. The Deputy tabled a parliamentary question on this matter this week and, in our reply, we indicated that we do not propose to provide an exemption from the requirements for these types of properties. That would not be an appropriate response to the current situation.