Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

This is an interesting amendment. The issue arises as a consequence of modern living conditions and standards. When people lived in traditional houses, they would have had a back yard or back garden in which to put up a clothesline. I am not saying I come down on either side of the argument because we would not want to have all kinds of unsightly paraphernalia and various items of attire, in many colours, hanging from apartments. From an environmental perspective, I do not know if the design of apartments should include such a provision which might be more appropriate to the Planning and Development Act. Consideration was given to the storage of wheelie bins and other such services, but is there any technological or engineering design that might overcome this problem? It will be difficult to legislate but, from an environmental point of view, I can understand from where Senator Bacik is coming. People should be allowed to dry their clothes but how they do it is another matter. I am interested in hearing the Minister's response.