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

I understand that the Department would have certain specifications. That is different from what I am talking about. What I am talking about is simple and straightforward, that we have a generic design, for instance, for a two-bedroom terrace house, that is most appropriate that can be used in Donegal, Kerry, Offaly or Laois, and that we have single-storey two-bedroom units for people with disabilities that can be used across the country.

What I am asking the Secretary General is, why have we to go back to a blank canvas on every occasion? It is costing more. It is slowing down the process. Those are the two issues. We are discussing the cost of these projects and the speed at which we can get them delivered. We are in the middle of a crisis. I need not tell Mr. Doyle that. I am sure the officials are doing their best to deal with this. One of the big impediments are these issues and this is something that we can deal with. There is no reason a firm of architects will not design a generic model for us by looking at the best examples of what we have used to date, there are some brilliant examples, that can be replicated right across the State. A little like how, I understand, pop stars get a royalty every time their tune is played somewhere, every time 100 houses to the architects' design are being built in Donegal or wherever, they would get a limited, modest fee or royalty on it.

Surely there is some way of doing this. We did it before, why can it not be done?