Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am absolutely aware that some permissions have been granted. I looked for detailed figures on this and they show that out of 62,546 homes which were approved up to June this year, 600 were deemed to be shared accommodation. That is the proportion we are talking about. However, the Deputy makes a very fair point that there are applications coming in and permissions have been granted. As he knows, I am precluded from talking about particular applications but I have initiated a review and I am serious about it. My own views on this issue have not changed. I want to make sure, as part of the review I am undertaking, that there are no unintended consequences to proceeding with such schemes. The Deputy made the further really important point that we already have people living in shared accommodation in overcrowded apartments and houses, sometimes with three or four generations in the same home. These are not examples of the new co-living schemes but the reality of co-living for many people. We have to address that, through our building programme, by building more public homes.

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