I have waited to speak in this debate on the Estimate for the Office of Public Works because I represent a constituency which more than any other is affected by the Office of Public Works because about one-eighth of its land area is controlled by the Office of Public Works. The Phoenix Park and the Memorial Park in Inchicore are just two examples, although I will not confine my remarks to those areas.
Ba mhaith liom focal a rá mar gheall ar An Scoil Lán-Ghaelach in Inse Chaoir a bhí agus atá ag lorg suímh áirithe ag Droichead na hInse in aice le hInse Chaoir. Tá a fhios agam go raibh an tAire Stáit féin ag féachaint ar an suíomh ach ní raibh sé ábalta an suíomh a thabhairt don bhord bainistíochta.
We speak a lot about the revival of the Irish language. In Inchicore there is a very successful all-Irish bunscoil or primary school which was approved by the National Coalition Government. The school has been operating under very difficult circumstances in temporary buildings; they have had to move from place to place. It started as a naí scoil and has developed into a bunscoil and it has been in four different locations. The school asked for a particular site in the ownership of the Office of Public Works at Islandbridge near Inchicore. I know the Minister of State visited the site, and I thank him for it. But he did not allocate the site to the board of management. The reason given was that there is a general policy in the Office of Public Works not to part with any land in their possession. Perhaps the Minister will clarify that. Certainly that was the message that was conveyed to the board of management and to An Cumann Tuismuitheoirí, the parents' association.
I appeal to the Minister of State to review that decision because the site in question is an isolated one at the end of what is locally known as Memorial Park but which I think is referred to in the Department as the proposed Phoenix Park extension. This site is mainly cut off from the rest of this huge public area about which I want to speak in a few minutes. It is ideal for a scoileán-Ghaelach because it is right in the middle of a large catchment area. In fact, if they had that site they would extent their catchment area because it is on many bus routes. It is on or near the Inchicore, Clondalkin, Rathcoole, Newcastle, Drimnagh, Palmerstown, Chapelizod, Lucan, Leixlip and Maynooth bus routes and it is also on the bus route to Ballyfermot. This site is only half a mile from the location where the school started; it would be absolutely ideal and, what is more, that site is not much good for anything else. It is right beside a site which the Office of Public Works gave to the St. John of God Brothers for a special school there which is a great advantage to the area. So there is a precedent. As the St. John of God School is of great service to the area around it, so would a scoil lán-Ghaelach. I therefore appeal to the Minister to review his decision. It is very important and urgent.
Last year I raised this in the House with the Minister for Education and, while he expressed great concern and a great wish to help the school, he was unable to do so. The school started first in a local hall as a naí scoil owned by Conradh na Gaeilge and there was such interest in it that it developed. Eventually they got the use of the local Church of Ireland hall but it got too big for that and, in any event, the owners understandably wanted their hall back for use because it is a very thriving parish. Very intense steps were taken last year in which they were involved, as were other public representatives for the area, in trying to get either a temporary site or a permanent site. Also involved were Dublin Corporation and the Eastern Health Board, both of whom were extremely helpful. A number of sites in the area were the property of the corporation but none of them was big enough, and in one or two cases where they might have been big enough for temporary sites the expenditure would not have been warranted and there would have been difficulty in all the circumstances, given that it is the declared policy of the State since its foundation to revive the Irish language. I tell the Minister of State that here is a golden opportunity to do something tangible about it.
The school left the Church of Ireland Hall, Inchicore Road — which is only a few hundred yards from the site at Islandbridge that I am talking about — last June and they now have gone miles away to classrooms in a school in Crumlin. This is causing great difficulty for the parents many of whom have approached me regularly and consistently even up to this week. There may be a problem in that many of the schools in the general vicinity are now less than fully populated, but if that is the reason why the site is not being given, that should be stated honestly and then the board of management, an bord bainistíochta and An Cumann Tuismitheoirí, would see where they stood. They deserve to know whether their effort in a practical way to help the revival of the Irish language has really got official sanction.
I want to deal with the rest of the memorial park which is in the ownership of the OPW. The Minister of State has agreed to a proposal for a road to cross the site more than half way up Con Colbert Road, the new Chapelizod by-pass. Indeed, it was I who suggested the route about six years ago and recently agreement was given to it, I understand. The site would be cut in two but the road would cut away one part which has been leased to the Dublin City VEC. The rest of the site is now and will remain derelict until something is done about it. One of the Minister of State's predecessors, the late Deputy Noel Lemass, when he was Parliamentary Secretary at the OPW some years from 1969 to 1973, came up with a proposal for a municipal golf course on the whole site. It was also then to be the Phoenix Park extension and I remember seeing plans of pedestrian over-passes crossing the Liffey connecting what was called on the plan the Phoenix Park extension to Phoenix Park proper.
I was very enthusiastic about the plan. Unfortunately, the general election came in 1973 and the local Deputy, Deputy Lemass, was no longer in charge of the OPW and the proposal was dropped. It would not be practical to talk in terms of a municipal golf course for the rest of the site that would be left after the VEC have taken possession of the part of the property which they are leasing, although that would be a good development in itself in that there would be a sporting amenity in the area. Therefore, I ask the Minister of State to come up as soon as possible with proposals to develop or use in some way the remainder of the site known locally as the memorial park. In fact I am talking about that part of the property which is in the possession of the OPW which surrounds the memorial park proper. Perhaps the Minister of State would consider even making the site available on a lease basis — or whatever other basis he would like to consider — to Dublin Corporation so that the much-needed amenities and facilities in the whole area of Inchicore, Ballyfermot and Chapilizod, which are contiguous to the site in Islandbridge, could be developed.
The site in question is right on the banks of the River Liffey, in fact on that part of the River Liffey which I think is the most attractive part within the city of Dublin. I have felt since I was a child — because I was born and reared in the area — that this site has great potential. On the opposite side of the river are a number of boat clubs and on the south side where the site is there is one boat club. A lot of boating goes on in the area and the whole area from Islandbridge to Chapelizod Bridge could be developed into a great boating amenity for Dublin city. Dublin Corporation themselves have bought an old boathouse from a boating club who have built a new one. The boathouse which Dublin Corporation have bought is on the north side of the river and they intend to develop it into a boating amenity for the children in the Ballyfermot-Inchicore neighbourhood. This has great potential.
I know that this is a time of financial stringency and that no Minister has money to throw around, but the Minister, Dublin Corporation, a number of boating interests, probably a number of business interests in the area and Bord Fáilte also could develop an absolutely splendid boating amenity — and not only boating, but a water facility — between Islandbridge and Chapelizod. Chapelizod by-pass goes along the river bank from the city side of the Ranch Estate for some hundreds of yards going towards Chapelizod. On the Chapelizod end of the Ranch the corporation have what was a dump until recently and they are going to develop what will be a useful and very attractive park. Just across the river is Phoenix Park and there are boathouses on the banks of the river. It is a dream area and would be a great addition to the city if the Minister would do something about it or allow the corporation to develop it for the OPW. The Dublin Corporation Community and Environment Department would be very pleased to be involved in this and so would the entire council.
I come now to the biggest single responsibility of the OPW, Phoenix Park. The park is embraced completely in my new constituency of Dublin West. It is bigger than Ballyfermot. Whoever was responsible for the siting of the Phoenix Park deserves the eternal gratitude and praise of the people of Dublin because it is a magnificent amenity. It is appropriate to praise the Minister and the staff of the Office of Public Works for the way it is maintained. It has retained its character. The staff in the park are always very courteous and well dressed. They do their job very well. We are quick to blame the Minister when things go wrong so it is only right to praise him when things go well. I should be grateful if he would convey a message of appreciation to the staff in the Phoenix Park and to the officials in the Office of Public Works whose responsibility it is.
Do we make enough use of the Phoenix Park? I should be glad to have the Minister's comments on whether or not we could have more facilities such as a swimming pool, either indoor or outdoor, without detracting from the amenities of the park. In my travels abroad, when I was Lord Mayor of Dublin, I saw open-air swimming pools in countries with colder climates than ours and they were widely used. They added greatly to the character of the areas in which they were located. Tennis courts were proposed for the park a few years ago but they did not materialise. There should also be basketball facilities. All these facilities could be sited in corners of the park and would not detract in any way from its appearance but would add to the amenities. The Phoenix Park is not used enough. It is surrounded by vast urban development. Until comparatively recently there was nothing outside the park on the Knockmaroon-Castleknock-Blanchards-town side but now a vast new city has developed there. These new areas lack facilities even more than the old areas like Inchicore, Kilmainham, O'Devaney Gardens, Navan Road and Blackhorse Avenue. Apart from football pitches and polo grounds, there are no facilities for physical recreation.
The community and environment department of Dublin Corporation and the community affairs section of Dublin County Council could form a committee on this matter. These two authorities are building and extending new communities in the vicinity of the Phoenix Park and they have to plan facilities strictly within their areas of responsibility. They cannot or do not make refernce to the potential of the Phoenix Park. As a member of the corporation's youth and community affairs sub-committee, I know that the corporation — I am sure the same is true of the county council — would be delighted to develop the Phoenix Park in a way which would not detract from its visual attractions.
The Phoenix Park is a greatly valued part of Dublin. It is very well protected and rightly so. When the local authorities proposed the new western motorway they could not widen the Conyngham-Chapelizod Road which runs right along the park from Parkgate to Chapelizod — the most obvious way to go — because they were not allowed to take a few feet from the frontage of the park. I am not sure that measures which go to that extent to protect the park are warranted. I would have reluctantly moved the wall of the Phoenix Park back about 20 feet which would not have taken away anything from the park and would have facilitated the building of the road. Instead of that the corporation have to build a new bridge across the Liffey at great expense. There is going to be an S-bend at Kingsbridge on the motorway from O'Connell Bridge to Leixlip. They had to build a dual carriageway along St. John's Road from Islandbridge to Sarsfield Road, Ballyfermot, at the Ranch in Inchicore. That also included a staggered junction bridge over the railway at Islandbridge. The corporation have gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid taking a few feet off the park. Their final route within the city proposes knocking down a local public house and several houses, disrupting a whole estate, The Ranch, in Inchicore, and going in front of 80 houses in Sarsfield Road and 30 houses in Saint Laurence's Road, Chapelizod. This was all done to preserve the Phoenix Park. I know it is a good cause but was it reasonable to put the country to such expense and to delay the road by many years in order to preserve the Phoenix Park? I am not sure that the right decision was made, even though the spirit in which it was made was absolutely right.
I want to raise the question of the main road from Parkgate to Castleknock. There are a considerable number of accidents on this road. I do not know how this problem can be overcome. Animals are involved in some of these accidents though many of the accidents are the result of speeding on this straight and wide road which is almost three miles in length. Another factor is the bad lighting on the road and also the absence of markings of any kind. Many people have told me that they would not drive through the Phoenix Park at night because of the difficulties presented by the bad lighting. The whole question of public lighting within the area must be considered in the context of safety on the main road. The provision of markings, too, should be considered. I would not wish to see traffic lights being introduced into the park. Already this city has far too many traffic lights in the form of a so-called solution to our traffic problems. In any case, something must be done to reduce the accident rate on the main road in the Phoenix Park. Perhaps the introduction of ramps might be considered. Regarding the problem presented by the animals, I would not advocate the provision of railings along the main road because these would take away from the whole character of the park. Something in the nature of grids might be considered as a means of keeping the animals off the roads.
Beyond the Castleknock Gate is a vast community of commuters many of whom are dependent totally on public transport. I am aware that I would be out of order in referring during this debate to the transport problems of Castleknock, Blanchardstown, Mulhuddart or the Strawberry Beds but there are many problems in this regard for the people of those areas despite the fact that they are within a relatively short distance of the city. According to CIE many of the problems are the result of traffic delays. While some of the commuters from these areas travel by car, many depend on public transport. Those who have private transport can drive through the park and thereby avoid traffic delays but there is a big problem for those who must travel by bus. I am wondering whether the running of buses through the park would impinge very much on the facilities of the area. On balance, I think it would be a good idea to make this provision so that people could be transported to and from the city within a reasonable time. I expect that CIE would welcome such a move. The ideal might be to provide the bus service at peak times only and on a straight-through basis. Before too long there are likely to be almost 200,000 people commuting each day from the areas in question.
While on the question of the Phoenix Park, I should like to refer to Aras an Uachtaráin. The general decor and condition of this building is excellent. The same can be said of the State Apartments at Dublin Castle and of our embassies though I can only speak for those that I have visited. The Minister and his staff deserve to be complimented in this regard. However, though I am not familiar with the staffing arrangements at Aras an Uachtaráin, it would appear that these arrangements are somewhat deficient since a colonel who is the ADC to the President is the person who answers the door and takes people's coats on their arrival.