Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I could not have put it better than Deputy McAuliffe. Let us take a small step back. What we have done as a Government so far - in fairness, with the co-operation of the Opposition in support of most of these measures - is ban co-living. We are getting rid of SHDs and restoring planning to local level and rightly so. We are restoring local democracy according to commitments we made in the programme for Government that we are seeing through. There is a real point in what Deputy McAuliffe said. I do not dispute some of the issues that have been raised here and as part of the planning review that is under way about some of the issues around this but I think most people would understand that we need a consistent approach to policy areas such as student accommodation, co-living and other positive measures we may make. If we remove the legislative provision to empower a Minister to ensure a nationally consistent approach to planning in all 31 local authorities, the three regional assemblies and An Bord Pleanála when we are implementing national planning policy, it would be very problematic. I agree with some, though not all, of the points that have been made. One of the amendments would repeal and delete the ministerial planning guidelines, which is in direct conflict with my statutory role as Minister. I genuinely believe that while the views put forward are well held and well made, this is the wrong place and time to do it. It needs to be more considered than what we would be doing by literally deleting a statutory power any Minister would have to ensure there is consistency in planning approach. I take it that neither Deputy would want that to happen or none of the three so-----