Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Approximately 18,000 new homes were built last year and we anticipate that 22,000 new homes will be built this year. Of the 18,000 built last year, some 3,000 or 4,000 were one-off homes, mostly, but not entirely, in rural areas. This means that people are obtaining planning permission and that those in rural areas are still able to build houses, as should be the case. There is a planning process, however, and that must take other important factors into account. People are entitled to object to a council if they do not believe that permission should be granted. They are also entitled to appeal to An Bord Pleanála if they do not agree with the decision of the council. I do not know if it is feasible in a democracy - and this is a democracy - to bar people from objecting to the granting of planning permission if they wish to do so.

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