Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely. It refers to all new buildings, including all social housing. There are not as many new social housing units around as we would like but the number is increasing and there will be more next year. They are A-rated in terms of energy.The quality of the design in new social housing stock is very good. There is a financial cost to that but there are also quality-of-life and accessibility issues involved. We are exploring the question of design variants within local authority housing estates and mixing single-storey units, double-storey units, etc., to try to cater for different needs, including those of the elderly and people with disabilities. Although the design of houses and accessibility have improved significantly in terms of turning room in bathrooms and toilets and the width of doorways, other things can be done to provide a diversity of design to cater for different needs. The core building regulations are required to be followed in all buildings. These are things not just required to get planning but to build a house or a housing unit.