The Government introduced a planning circumvention to allow wealthy accommodation providers to bypass the planning laws entirely for IPAS centres. This totally disregards local communities where no engagement effectively happens whatsoever. I spoke to the owner of the Belmont Hotel recently who told me he was developing a four-star hotel. That was before a leaked document showed the local authority had plans to develop accommodation for asylum seekers. The same is happening throughout the country. It is totally unfair that young couples have to wait years on An Bord Pleanála and planning delays to build their own home but wealthy accommodation providers can bypass the planning laws entirely without any engagement with local authorities. Will the Government end this planning circumvention and apply the laws of the land to every citizen?

The Deputy makes an interesting point. As we move beyond what has had to be an emergency response to migration, we need to get a much more sustainable, managed approach, one that involves not just the focus on accommodation but also on rules. That means for people who do not have a right to be here, we ensure they leave more efficiently. For people who have a right to be here, it is about getting that right more quickly, allowing them to work, make a contribution, pay taxes and make their way in our country.

When it comes to accommodation, we need a full re-examination of the tools we use. We have a new Minister of State with responsibility for migration, Deputy Brophy, and a new Minister for Justice, Deputy O’Callaghan. The Taoiseach and I intend to sit down shortly with the both of them to discuss the approach we will take. Planning will be a part of that discussion.