Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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I want to make two points, the first of which is on Part V. I noted that the speaker from the Construction Industry Federation regarded the provisions in Part V as unreasonable. I draw the federation's attention to a practice that has occurred in the past. When the wealthiest areas of Dublin - Dalkey and Ballsbridge being two good examples - were built, houses were built for the wealthy. Behind them, houses were built for less-wealthy people who in many cases actually worked for the well off. One reason it is important we do not take on board the federation's suggestion is that travelling is so difficult, particularly in the greater Dublin area and also in Cork and Galway. The more people who have short distances to travel to work, the better. If we continue with trying to build a socially divided city, we will be left with even greater problems than we have at present. I hope we will not take on board the suggestions made in this regard. I really do not understand the rationale for the delegates' argument, other than that it may suit certain developers.

The other issue I would like to raise concerns the question of vacant sites. Many towns and cities have many vacant sites that are an eyesore. It does not really matter whether the locations are big, such as Dublin, or small towns around the country. Could Ms Hughes, or anyone who feels able to comment on this, go back over how she envisages the provisions in this area could be strengthened? I did not get the impression that she is against doing something about vacant sites but that she wants the job to be done as effectively as possible. That is my view also.