Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his presentation. I am in two minds on these regulations and the questions I have are very similar to those I raised in the context of Deputy Pat Casey's Bill on over-the-shop developments. Specifically with regard to the water infrastructure and the over-the-shop developments regulations, I absolutely understand the need to have exemptions for emergency works, for example, or for routine or basic works. However, I have a concern that the list of exemptions in the first regulation is broader than that. What reassurances can the Minister of State give that we are not going to have a situation where a more significant piece of work that is more of a planned infrastructural investment rather than response, maintenance or emergency maintenance is not going to end up in a dispute with people who feel that an application for planning permission should have been required?

How certain is the Minister of State that the list is as restrictive as it should be?

On the proposals for the development of residential accommodation over a shop, my big concern, although I support them in principle, is that if we grant these exemptions, how will we ensure all of the minimum standards for fire safety will be fully adhered to? No one wants to stand in the way of streamlining and fast-tracking developments to get units back into use, nor do we want to see a situation where the minimum standards are not being met when property is subdivided into nine units. The regulations state the minimum standards must be met, but how can we ensure this will actually happen when planning permission is not required for the redevelopment of a property into nine units or less?