Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise an important and urgent matter with regard to planning regulations and to ask the Leader to ask the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to come to the House to set out his plans with regard to co-living. Across Dublin city at the moment, a number of planning applications for co-living units are under consideration by Dublin City Council. In my constituency alone, four planning applications have gone through in the last nine months, the latest being a protected structure, Hendrons, in Dublin Central in the north inner city.

The Minister, while in opposition, set out very clearly his discomfort and lack of support for co-living. Now, as Minister, he has said that we have to let the market decide. Frankly, that is not good enough, particularly in a constituency like mine where we are trying to build communities. In particular where there are fragile communities, we need to try to build sustainable communities with a sustainable, long-term roof over people's heads.

It is a matter of urgency. As already said in the House by my colleague, Senator Moynihan, we need the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to suspend the regulations on co-living and for him to come to this House to set out his plans for co-living into the future.