Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

The Minister should spell out his intention more clearly. There are many cases in rural Ireland where a son or daughter applied for planning permission to build an extension so that two families can live under one roof but in two separate living quarters. The reason they do this is so the offspring can look after their parents. We have been advocating this for many years, so people can be kept out of hospitals and be looked after by their families. That policy has been promoted by everybody. In this case, there could be two separate electricity bills to ensure the pensioner gets their entitlement to free electricity, fuel and so forth. What the Minister has said leads me to believe that there would be a charge for the type of development where there are two houses within a single structure, with the parents living in one and a son or daughter with their family living in the other. The Minister should explain this in more detail.

The other issue is who will be the final arbiter. Will the county manager make the final decision as to whether it is just one house or two houses? Somebody has to decide whether the €200 fee applies. Who will be the final arbiter in these cases?