John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, because it seemed that one could add at any point but the ability to remove was restricted. I am not for a moment advocating that we get rid of protected structures but for a local authority to be able to look at that in limited circumstances or, where a directive comes down, to decide not to implement the broad swathe but something more appropriate and specific to the local area. I think that has been captured and I offer my compliments on that.

More generally on planning, one area that I think has, or at least should have, a bearing on this is former holiday-style villages that were granted permission during the Celtic tiger or earlier. Tax incentives were available for these and different regulations attached to them. Tight housing supply means the vast majority of these holiday-style villages, especially in coastal areas, are being lived in permanently. If residents want to rectify the planning and use the accommodation as permanent residences rather than holiday-style lettings, their ability to do so is essentially nil because they cannot meet the current regulations or criteria. This needs some consideration in the context of this Bill, not in future legislation, because it is important right now. If 50 or 60 residents in such a development decided they wanted to make these houses their permanent residences and did not mind that the open space requirement we typically want these days was not being met, they should be able to regularise things under the planning code. That is not captured in the Bill. Could it be captured? What are the witnesses' thoughts on the matter?