Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is absolutely right that the two things are not disconnected in terms of allowing and facilitating developers to construct their buildings and having homes for people to move into and to live in. When we address this measure, we are not just doing so for one part of this equation but for everyone involved, so houses can be built and finished and people can move in and live in them. It will relieve the kind of pressure that Deputy Boyd Barrett talked about in other parts of the market, which other people are experiencing.

Taking the Deputy's example of the estate that is not yet finished, one could equally be in a position whereby a developer now sees the opportunity for a second extension to finish out the development. He goes for financing to do that and the financier asks how long he has to do it. He says two years but the financier thinks it will take three and permission is not granted. In that scenario, the estate never gets finished. We are trying to put the five-year extension in place but will give the discretion to the local authority, which will be better able than the Deputy or I to judge how much time would actually be required, and will move forward on that basis.

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