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

It is true that Deputy Howlin engaged with me in respect of something that had been brought to his attention, as has the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, in respect of concerns as to whether the densities are correct and to make sure we are not preventing developments from happening. The requirement of 35 to 50 dwellings per hectare for urban areas is the equivalent of 35 to 50 homes on a site similar in size to the pitch of Croke Park. I do not think that is over-densification in an urban area, if we are talking about a town like Wexford or a town in Cork, as was drawn to my attention. We have to make sure we are maximising the sites we have that are close to town centres. That is going to be important for community living and for reducing our reliance on cars. It is also going to be important for reducing our carbon impact. The guidelines and manual that we have speak to this. It is also about taking a different approach, not just trying to build one type of home on one site but a mixture of different types of homes, in order that we can provide housing for someone coming into their first job, for a family, but also for someone of an elderly age as well. Increasingly, what we are trying to drive, through the work of the Ministers of State, Deputies English and Jim Daly, is housing for the elderly. On some of these sites, if they combine houses for families with elderly housing facilities or community spaces, they can achieve that 35 to 50 dwellings per hectare quite easily.

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