Mr. John Spain:

I welcome Deputy Lahart taking us back to the key issue of quality of life. As he said, this is not just about numbers, it is about quality in terms of sustainable housing development and what that means for people's lives. In terms of the strategic housing development process, while the policy framework remains the same as for the standard application process, from the outset there has been more emphasis by An Bord Pleanála on qualitative issues and compliance with good planning practice, as set out in sustainable residential development guidelines. We have seen some applications refused purely on grounds of the development not being of adequate quality in terms of design, layout and so on.

It is inevitable that there is a degree of friction as we move towards a system that involves densifying our urban areas. We are seeing this friction, which is reflected in many of the comments we are hearing. Many established urban areas consist predominantly of low-density two-storey housing. We are introducing a greater variety of housing types. Our efforts to introduce higher-density apartment schemes are causing friction with the established communities. Such efforts are essential if we are to achieve our overall sustainable development objectives, such as the achievement of a more compact urban form and the maintenance of a more sustainable pattern of development which supports public transport and road facilities, etc. That needs to be managed carefully. We can continue to develop and improve many aspects of the management of this process. Fundamentally, I think we are heading in the right direction in this regard.