Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Excellent, I commend the Minister on that practical thinking. Being able to renew a permission a second time would be a step forward.

As to the over-regulation of engineering, we all want houses built to a certain standard and our standards are high, but they incur a significant cost on building. Perhaps this issue could be re-examined.

The Minister touched on the question of deposits and first-time buyers. We will await the budget in that regard. The Minister also mentioned that one in every five houses was unoccupied in some counties. I believe that, as I do not live far from some of them. It might be worth considering a grant scheme to repopulate country areas where houses have been built but are not occupied. Some people living in other peripheral places would be delighted to move to another county.