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

I thank the Deputy for the compliments he has bestowed on the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, who is certainly one of the stellar members of my Cabinet.

In relation to rural housing, I do not have the exact figures, but I remember discussing this issue with the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, not too long ago. I think approximately 1,000 one-off rural homes get planning permission every year. This figure has not gone particularly up or down, but it has been a pretty steady figure across the years. Yet, we need some rules around planning. There are real costs to dispersed development and real problems arise from that, so we need to make sure we balance that so that people who have a genuine local need get planning. However, it cannot - and I know the Deputy would not want this - just be the case that everyone gets planning permission. There has to be some sort of rules and regulations around that.

In relation to Ministers taking a leaf from the Minister, Deputy Humphreys's book-----

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