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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 30 Apr 1997

Vol. 478 No. 5

Private Members' Business. - Investment in Dublin: Motion.

The following motion was moved by Deputy Seamus Brennan on 29 April 1997:
That Dáil Éireann condemns the Government for its general neglect of the Dublin area and calls on the Government to:
—invest further in transport and road infrastructure, bring forward an effective management plan, and urgently complete the Ring Road, link routes and by-passes;
—provide for the proper physical and environmental planning of the area;
—order a special study of the underground option for LUAS in the city centre and proceed with the lines to Sandyford, Tallaght and Ballymun without further delay;
— introduce measures to tackle Dublin's high unemployment rate and the public housing shortage;
—invest further in the health and education services in the city and county;
—provide extra Gardaí resources to combat Dublin's drug abuse and crime generally;
—instruct the IDA and other State agencies to attract more industrial, tourist and service projects for Dublin and
—introduce measures to effectively tackle Dublin's traffic gridlock and to deal with the taxi, late night and other public transport issues.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:
To delete all the words after "That" and substitute the following:—
"Dáil Éireann notes the achievements of the Government in promoting the social and economic development of the Dublin region and, in particular,
—notes that the Operational Programme for Transport, 1994 to 1999, provides for investment in excess of £600 million in transport infrastructure in Dublin;
—notes that water and sewerage schemes for the greater Dublin area, with a final estimated cost of more than £400 million, were included in the Department of the Environment's water and sewerage services capital works programmes for 1997;
—notes the very significant positive impacts which Dublin has experienced under the urban renewal schemes particularly in Temple Bar and the Custom House Docks area which is now to be subsumed into the regeneration initiative for the much wider dockland area;
—supports the Government commitment to construct the core light rail system to Ballymun, Cabinteely and Tallaght recommended by the Dublin Transportation Initiative and welcomes the practical initiatives which have been taken to implement that commitment as quickly as possible;
—notes the significant range of measures which are now in place to tackle long-term unemployment;
— notes the progress made in meeting social housing needs in the Dublin area and welcomes the Government's recent commitment to the comprehensive redevelopment and regeneration of the Ballymun estate;
—commends the Government for the sustained and wide ranging improvements in the health and personal social services implemented in Dublin;
—commends the Government for the significant increase in education services in Dublin city and county;
—welcomes the implementation of the recommendations of the first report of the Ministerial Task Force on measures to reduce demand for drugs and supports the Government in its policy to deal with the drugs and crime problem not only in relation to the deployment of Garda resources on the ground in Dublin, but also in the action it has taken on a broader front to combat the drugs menace;
—notes the excellent job creation record of the relevant State agencies in the Dublin area with the creation of over 6,000 new jobs in 1996 and overall employment in the year to April 1996 increasing by a record 26,200;
—notes that the average annual rate of jobs growth in the Dublin region for April 1994-96, at 5.2% was well ahead of the jobs growth rate nationally;
— acknowledges the success of the Government's overall tourism policy and its positive impact on the Dublin region;
—notes the provision made for culture institutions, venues and activities;
— notes the success to date of Operation Freeflow and the commitment of all of the agencies involved to repeat that success under the second phase of the operation which was launched last month and
—notes the recent initiatives by the Dublin local authorities to address the public demand for more taxis."
—(Minister for Equality and Law Reform).

I note Deputy Haughey who was in possession has some ten minutes remaining which will be utilised by Deputy Ahern.

In its excellent document, Dublin 2000, Our City a thriving City, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce began by stating that Dublin in 1995 faces many difficulties — more than 90,000 people are unemployed, it is a congested city chocked by traffic and it has a serious and growing crime problem. The chamber projects itself forward to 2010 and imagines Dublin alive with tourists, full of high quality jobs, a safe and secure city for young and old with traffic flowing freely and Dublin playing international host to a year round calendar of exciting sporting, cultural and conference events.

At present our capital city is caught between that reality and vision. We are on our way to achieving that vision, but we have a good deal to plan and achieve in the period ahead. There are still 90,000 people unemployed. The city is still choked with traffic and the crime problem awaits firm handling.Unfortunately, this Government's term of office will be remembered as the period when decisions were deferred and Minister in the three rainbow parties passed the parcel with key projects, such as light rail, the conference centre, Dublin Port tunnel, the national science park and the major twin social evils of crime and unemployment.The presence of this Government has hardly created a ripple on the surface of life. What is good was completed or planned before its arrival and the next phase of developments will be planned and implemented when it is gone.

I am glad I have had the opportunity down through the years to be involved in many of the key issues which are the source of debate on this Fianna Fáil motion tonight. We have considered the type of issues all Members of this House would like to see addressed. We believe the city needs a new charter with the objective of giving Dubliners the maximum say in the way their city is run and maximum participation in charting a bright future for it.

Why did the Deputy's party not fund a civic charter?

That has been a disaster. As the Deputy knows, anything that was done in recent years was done by us.

Those were years of neglect.

I suppose the Deputy will claim credit for projects such as the IFSC and Temple Bar and the pedestrianisation of the city. The Deputy nearly ruined the city council not to mention the rest of the city.

In each area of the city and its suburbs we have a network of communities who identify with their particular locality, choose to live there and play a role in developing the community and preserving the valuable heritage that is there. There is a constant flow of activity in aspects of local life, the environment, employment, traffic, tourism and education. It is our party's view that we will implement a new method of financial support for local authorities to be paid for by a dedicated fund of public finance and on the basis of that assured income local authorities will be able to plan for the long term and concentrate on providing quality services in a co-ordinated way.

Some of the issues addressed last night include the crime problem, the drugs crisis in the city, the provision of quality housing and education, including access to third level education, which is becoming a major problem. Last night figures were given indicating a major shortage of places. It is good that people want to avail of third level education, but the shortage of college places must be addressed. There is also a need for guidance and the provision of employment opportunities for the long-term unemployed, an issue the Taoiseach and I addressed at Question Time today. Citizens with disabilities should be given equal access and opportunities. The enhancing of Dublin's environment and the preservation of its heritage is a key issue that should be given proper resources. Dublin citizens should be assured they will have access to cultural institutions, the Dublin transport system should be integrated and local communities should have an equal partnership role with Dublin Corporation. That is a broad outline of the type of proposals we would introduce. We would work to ensure that Dublin Corporation would work with local communities in an agreed and integrated way.

Local development plans have been drawn up in many areas throughout the city and county. Some time ago I attended a conference, South Dublin 2012, with the Chamber of Commerce at which it launched a comprehensive and costed plan to successfully tackle the challenges of unemployment, disadvantage and underdevelopment in west and south Dublin. I highlighted in the speech I made on that occasion that the history of Tallaght is an example of how major projects can be delivered by hard graft for local communities.Tallaght today has an regional technical college, the Square, Tallaght Hospital, South Dublin County Council buildings and a library. The M50 has been completed and those projects have been great developments. As Deputy Broughan will readily admit they were planned and delivered by Fianna Fáil over the years.

We have had 25 years of neglect.

I know he would be only too glad to mention that every one of those projects was put forward by Fianna Fáil.

The same cannot be said for the Deputy's constituency of Dublin Central which suffers some of the worst social problems.

Let us hear the Deputy in possession without interruption.

We will wait to see if the Deputy is here in 20 years time to tell us how she got on with projects in Ballymun. Heckling represents the two Deputies' contribution to Dublin. Tallaght is a perfect example of the strong local partnership necessary to get the job done. The area partnership approach was pioneered by Fianna Fáil and the social partners as set out in the PESP document.

And the labour movement.

The Labour Party was against PESP.

I said the labour movement. I was there.

There are a few infiltrators in the organisations who are causing trouble. There are still many difficulties in some areas such as Cherry, Orchard, St. Catherine's and Swords, in Finglas and Ringsend. In many other sectors of the city local enterprise boards continue to work with business groups and they are successfully banding together to deal with individual cases.

Dublin is a popular tourist destination at present. Direct flights to Dublin have played a part in this success. In spite of the many new accommodation plans provided over the past five years there is severe pressure on places almost on an all year round basis. There are some worrying signs that we may be attracting particular tourist-client groups who concentrate on heavy drinking and can easily become involved in aggregated crimes or worse. This is not yet a major problem but more complaints are being made by residents and businesses and the gardaí highlighted at a recent conference that it is something we should deal with before it gets out of hand. I do not subscribe to the view expressed by some people that the problem has got out of hand. We must be wise and deal with the problem effectively.

To exploit fully the current and future potential of the city we need easy access to and from places of work and business, shopping and leisure facilities, cultural, education and Government buildings and quality integrated links between air, sea, rail and road transport.

The quality of life of Dublin in the city centre and the suburbs must, in all these cases, be enhanced by any new developments and concerns must be accommodated. While there was a brief respite during Operation Freeflow, we have once again returned to gridlock, even at off peak times with various bottlenecks of long lines of traffic idling away and causing major delays. The appointment of a director of traffic will be of some assistance, but more structural developments are needed to deal with the problem. Every major report, including the latest ESRI mid-term one, highlighted the real dangers of congestion if not checked and that it will choke off not only the quality of life but the life blood of commercial life in the city.

It is vital that we proceed as quickly as possible with the completion of the ringroad around the city and determine an agreed route for the port tunnel. We will also put on the table plans for a port access tunnel from Heuston Station to be funded by private sector funds, a project in which I was actively involved when I was Minister for Finance. I believe that project is realistic and the Minister who is present may be still dealing with it. It makes commercial sense and I know the people involved are prepared to move it forward.

I am proud of the role we have played in planning and ensuring funding for the series of by-passes and new roads including the N1 and the M50, but there are still major bottlenecks, particularly at the airport and at the Firhouse end of the M50. They must be addressed urgently. If we are to avoid the difficulties we faced previously. We must increase the capacity and services of the DART as well as suburban rail with the opening of former stations and extending links to the city centre. As a matter of major priority, we need a rapid rail link to Dublin Airport where carparking facilities are already at a maximum. Further major growth is forecast for the airport which handles ten million passengers annually. As I do not see how we can continue to extend the car-parking facilities at the airport we must find alternatives.

LUAS must be proceeded with as a matter of priority. The lack of driving space on our city centre streets, the prospect of disfiguring the city centre with tram wires, and the unacceptable nightmare of ripping up those core city streets, has convinced us we should fully explore the underground option. The Government was to look at this but it seems to be refusing to order an independent study of the costs of putting Luas underground. Nobody can do it until we actually see the costings. Has the Minister finished his own examination? I welcomed his statement a few months ago, after he took office, that he would examine it. While nobody can give a commitment without seeing the costings, I think it is worth doing. If we can find an alternative we should do so because otherwise it will create major chaos. I am in favour of the principle of light rail but we must find a satisfactory way of dealing with the core issues. I do not see how Dawson Street and St. Stephen's Green can each lose one traffic lane. It would not be practical. This city badly needs the proposals of the chambers of commerce, including Tallaght and Finglas, and the Harp project, as well as urban renewal. We should clearly deal with them.

On several occasions I raised the issue of tax designation, which has brought great investment to Dublin. I raised with the Minister responsible the fact that in a review of that tax designation we should set out clear guidelines on future policy in relation to private accommodation and rented dwellings. It is becoming clearer that the number of home owners in private apartments is severely declining. I hope we will not revert to low quality accommodation. I raised this issue at the start of the scheme in 1987 and have continually raised it since. As Minister for Finance I moved to increase accommodation. This is a major issue for the city that should be addressed in the short-term.We will have our own proposals to make on that matter.

I propose to share my time with Deputies Shortall, Broughan, Eric Byrne and Lynch.

Acting Chairman

Is that agreed? Agreed.

The Fianna Fáil motion seems to be going in two directions at once when it speaks about Luas. Deputy Brennan and his colleagues want a special study of the underground option. That will delay CIE's formal application for a light railway order and thereby impede progress on the project. At the same time they want the project implemented without delay. They cannot have it both ways — either they want further studies or they want action. They should get off the fence and say clearly which side of that argument they want to come down on.

Let me ask the Fianna Fáil Members a precise question, bearing in mind that CIE is now ready to submit a formal application for an on-street light rail line from Tallaght to Dundrum through the city centre. Does Fianna Fáil want CIE to proceed with that application, or does it want CIE to defer its application and delay the project until this special study of the underground option is completed? Those are clear choices and I would like to hear from Fianna Fáil Members which one they want. Do they want action now or more studies?

Let me be clear about one thing; it is not an option for CIE to make its formal application for an on-street light rail system while a special study of the underground alternative is going on in parallel.When the formal application process has begun, there is a clear statutory procedure which must be followed. It involves publication and display of the application, a period for making objections and a mandatory public inquiry, following which I will have to make a decision on CIE's application.

That application, like one for a motorway scheme or a compulsory purchase order, has to be clear and specific. CIE does not have the luxury of walking on both sides of the street at the same time, as Fianna Fáil is trying to do in this motion. It is the typical gobadán trying to be on both strands at the same time. CIE has to make clear a choice as to the routing of the proposed light rail line, including whether to construct it on-street or underground, and to defend that choice before a public inquiry and in the face of any objections from interested parties. CIE cannot leave a gap in the middle of its application to be filled with the remainder of the project at a later stage.

At an earlier point in the debate on the light rail system, Deputy Brennan suggested that the light rail routes should be built as far as the canals, leaving aside the city centre sections for further study. I would like to know if that option is still being proposed by Fianna Fáil. That approach would also delay CIE's application for a light rail order on the Tallaght-Dundrum line. The application now proposed by CIE would have to be withdrawn and recast to exclude the entire city centre section. It would also require substantial revision of the environmental impact statement.

An equally unacceptable alternative for CIE would be to delay indefinitely making the application until the underground review was completed.An application in respect of a tram network linking the suburbs to the canal ring, without any definite plans as to how to link those lines to each other or to the city centre, is not a very bright idea, even by Fianna Fáil's usual standards. It is typical of the very disjointed and literally disconnected thinking that we have come to expect from that party.

On a point of order, will the Minister give way under the new procedures to allow me to ask him a question?

I do not think I will because four colleagues wish to share time with me. Deputy Brennan will have an opportunity later on to tell us just how disjointed and disconnected his thinking is. I have made my position on this issue very clear since I came into office. As far back as 5 December last I explained my stance to Deputy Brennan in response to a parliamentary question.

The Minister is against the underground. Let us get the record clear.

The Deputy does not have to infer anything. I am telling him that if he is now proposing that part of this should be underground, his proposal amounts to nothing more than a piece of cockamamie populism, the extent of which he does not understand.

Is the Minister for or against it?

Acting Chairman

Let us hear the Minister without interruption, please.

He does not know.

At that time I said that the CIE project team should be given the time and space required to complete its consideration of the issues raised during the consultation process — we have a very long consultation process — and to decide the detailed shape and form of its formal application for a light railway order.

I reiterate that the statutory approval process in the Transport (Dublin Light Rail) Act, 1956, provides the appropriate forum for all issues in relation to the light rail project to be considered. The Act provides for full and effective public involvement in the statutory decision making process.Individuals and organisations will be able to make written objections to the formal CIE proposals.A mandatory public inquiry will then be held which will provide an adequate opportunity for open, independent, robust and objective scrutiny of the CIE proposals, during which people will be able to make oral submissions on matters of concern to them.

Before I make a decision on CIE's application for the necessary powers, I will be obliged to take account of the inspector's report on the public inquiry and of any written submissions made to me. I still believe that this is the best and most proper way of dealing with differing viewpoints, including the underground option for the city centre, which has been suggested by a number of commentators. Those who feel that an underground is the best option will have an adequate opportunity, before an independent inspector, to explain why and to challenge CIE on its approach.

The Minister is sitting on the fence.

That, of course, is an option that so far it seems will not be available to Fianna Fáil because it has not yet made up its mind about this. It is appropriate to remind the House that there has never been a more painstaking, detailed or time-consuming public consultation process in relation to any major infrastructure proposal than there has been for the LRT.

This Government has worked assiduously to ensure the phased implementation of the core light rail line to Tallaght, Ballymun and Cabinteely, as recommended by the Dublin Transportation Initiative. Last October we secured the agreement of the European Commissioner for Regional Affairs to go ahead with the Tallaght to Dundrum line and at the same time committed ourselves to get on with the planning of the Ballymun line with the objective of bringing it to construction not later than the completion of Tallaght-Dundrum.The planning work for Ballymun will also include consideration of an extension to Dublin Airport. I hope to be in a position shortly to make a further announcement which will provide tangible evidence of this Government's determination to implement the light rail system.

What about Sandyford?

I was astonished to hear Deputy Bertie Ahern make the most extraordinary and baseless assertion that this Government has been inactive. Unlike Fianna Fáil, this Government has taken concrete measures to improve public transport in Dublin. Deputy Ahern has shown yet again how out of touch he is with what is happening in the city. Perhaps the reason is that he has had an over dose of public "posterised" dreaming about an unknown and unspecified future.

I would like to put on record some of the major initiatives taken by this Government. European Union Cohesion Fund assistance has been obtained for the extension of the DART to Greystones and Malahide. Iarnród Éireann is proceding to implement these projects and the company hopes to be in a position to start the necessary electrification works later this year. The new service to Greystones will come into operation by the end of 1998 and the Malahide service will be operational the following year. That may not be important to Deputy Bertie Ahern because he rarely goes anywhere near Malahide or Greystones, but the people living in those areas will appreciate its value.

European Union Structural Fund assistance has been approved for extra DART rolling stock which will be delivered next year. Approval has been given for new stations at Fairview, Barrow Street, Drumcondra and Kilcock. Fairview station will open shortly, Kilbarrack station will be refurbished, Dún Laoghaire station will be improved and upgrading work is under way in other stations. Exchequer grant assistance has been provided for the upgrading of public address and passenger information systems on the DART network.

Substantial progress is being made in the quality bus corridor programme. Four of those are now in operation. I officially opened the Lucan corridor in February and our objective is to have all the radial corridors in place by the end of next year. These measures are being supported by action on the traffic management front. Operation Freeflow was launched successfully at Christmas and has now been extended. A director of traffic has been appointed for the first time. The director will be working with the CIE project team to put in place an effective traffic management regime for the light rail project. I am within my rights and the limits of decency to ask Deputy Ahern to withdraw his baseless assertion which indicates how out of touch he is with these issues.

There is nobody more in touch than Deputy Bertie Ahern.

Public transport is winning back market share despite intense competition from the private car. Last year the DART and suburban rail network carried over 88,000 passengers per day compared with less than 62,000 passengers ten years earlier. The introduction of quality but corridors has led to a growth of up to 25 per cent in the number of bus passengers on those routes.

This is riveting.

I call on Fianna Fáil to support the good work we have done and is now in train. I challenge its members to get off the fence on Luas and make up their minds.

The Minister does not realise the city is grinding to a halt. He lives in Kildare.

They can either support CIE's formal application for a light rail order or tell the people of Dublin that they want the project delayed indefinitely for further studies.

The Minister is against the underground system.

The people of Dublin can make a clear choice between action under this Government or paralysis with Fianna Fáil.

I wish to share my time with Deputy Broughan.

Acting Chairman

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I always regarded Fianna Fáil as the party with the brass neck. However, it has surpassed itself with this motion. This debate comes one week after a Fianna Fáil motion on farm incomes which proposed a major compensation package as the solution to the difficulties facing farmers. There is no doubt that Dublin needs additional investment, although it has received substantially more in recent years than it did under Fianna Fáil. It is only beginning to catch up on many fronts. How does this additional spending square with the fiscal rectitude advocated by Deputy McCreevy in his recent interview with The Irish Times or Deputy Bertie Ahern's commitment to keep the national debt under £39 million, which rules out borrowing for any purpose? The answer is it does not.

I have noticed a number of things about the new Fianna Fáil, the party which is not sullied by financial scandals and which has managed to make an art form of speaking out of both sides of its mouth. The problem is that Fianna Fáil is allergic to choice. People can choose between Deputy Bertie Ahern, the fixer and conciliator, or Deputy Bertie Ahern and Fianna Fáil, the party and leader who are afraid to upset anyone lest their flaky coalition falls apart. Listening to the recent Ard-Fheis speech by Deputy Ahern, I felt a sense of déjá vu because it conjured up images of helicopters dropping manifestos from the sky. It seemed like 1977 all over again. No wonder the party is upset about the clear choice facing the electorate at the next election.

Fianna Fáil has been bad for Dublin because of its need to kow-tow to vested rural interests. Fianna Fáil had many opportunities to deliver in Dublin but failed miserably, particularly on the north side. Within the past decade, north side Dubliners from the Fianna Fáil Party were Taoiseach, Minister for Finance, Minister for Social Welfare and Minister for Justice. However, the rate of delivery to their constituencies was abysmal and would not have been tolerated in any other county. There were two Fianna Fáil Deputies in my constituency from time immemorial until 1992. The election of only one Fianna Fáil Deputy in 1992 proved to be the exception to the long written rule.

Exceptions seem to be good for the people of Dublin North-West because Labour has delivered for my constituents. It was a Labour Minister for Finance, Deputy Quinn, who yesterday proposed tax designation status for the new Finglas technology campus. This will bring a large number of much needed jobs to an area which, under Fianna Fáil, became an unemployment blackspot. Another Labour Minister, Deputy Howlin, recently approved a £180 million redevelopment project for Ballymun, which was deprived of a chance to develop. It has now been given a new lease of life. Fianna Fáil's record in education was one of neglect. The Holy Spirit schools in Ballymun, now fully refurbished, were in need of repair but Fianna Fáil failed to deliver. A new building has been provided for St. Aidan's school in Whitehall, which had previously operated for over 25 years in substandard prefabricated accommodation.

Tonight's motion is a joke. Fianna Fáil has become a party without cause, belief or convictions.It is a hollow shell of its former glory and has no business in government. The Fianna Fáil legacy for the Dublin area has been badly planned urban sprawls and contented developers. We do not intend to allow them to forget that.

The motion is a joke. Deputy Noel Ahern used try to work out why his party was so fundamentally anti-Dublin and the conclusion he came to was that many of the Fianna Fáil Deputies who represented the area were not from the Dublin region. Whatever the reason, the record is clear.

I can speak at first hand as leader of the Labour Party group on Dublin City Council over the past six years. On a range of issues, Fianna Fáil has badly neglected and intensively denied Dublin its just deserts and necessities. Basic water and sewerage services are inadequate and Dublin is probably the only capital city whose water supply is not assured. This is the result of years of neglect by Fianna Fáil Administrations. Dublin Bay, the city's greatest natural amenity is in a filthy condition because of years of neglect. I commend the Minister Deputy Howlin for starting the water conservation and sewerage programmes to repair these deficiencies at long last.

On housing, Fianna Fáil Administrations, including the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Coalition, reduced the level of local authority house building to a trickle in Dublin and a combination of bad planning and lack of planning across the northern fringes of the city resulted in greedy rezoners and their Fianna Fáil lackeys on Dublin County Council producing awful environments which lack resources and services. Similarly, the proposals we heard tonight and last night for public transport are ironic and funny in the context of Fianna Fáil's record over the past 60 years.

With regard to the provision of youth and sports facilities it is ironic that, like me, the Fianna Fáil Leader likes to put on a blue jersey and parade in Croke Park, but when it came to diverting resources to Dublin GAA and sports clubs, that man was nowhere to be found and Dublin's sports clubs must exist on a pittance.

Across a range of areas, Fianna Fáil performance has been poor. This Government is trying to deal with the position whereby more than 70 per cent of crime is committed in Dublin, while only one third of Garda forces are deployed here. This developed under all those Fianna Fáil Administrations.

In the past 30 years two prominent northsiders, former Taoiseach Mr. Haughey and Deputy Ahern, have been in charge of Fianna Fáil. They have represented Dublin constituencies, such as Dublin Central, which has suffered from great deprivation, crime and vandalism. After 20 years in this House, the record of the Fianna Fáil Leader is very poor indeed and that is something on which Dubliners will reflect deeply in the forthcoming election.

Like my Labour Party colleagues, I find it hard to take Fianna Fáil seriously. I hope the electorate realises Fianna Fáil is in Opposition and it would be a disaster in Government.

I could not believe my eyes on reading the Private Members' Motion presented to this House. I do not know if people go through a dramatic experience when they leave Government and go into Opposition but it required a brass neck to present that motion to the House. When we inherited Government this city was in chaos. There was a drugs epidemic of unknown proportions, crime was at an all time high and unemployment in the city was of record proportions. A two-tier society had been created and so many double standards had been created in public life that the Government was ultimately toppled from power. We continue to see the scandals unfold at Dublin Castle.

Having been born and reared in Dublin I find it hard to restrain myself knowing the type of city I have inherited as a politician in Government. The day these political parties put aside their differences as independent political entities and formed this Rainbow Coalition could not have come a day too soon. They came together and resolved to a great extent in two and half years many of the underlying problems inherited from Fianna Fáil.

I note with some amusement that Fianna Fáil's motion calls on the Government to "provide for the proper physical and environmental planning of the area". That will come as news to the Democratic Left chairperson, Councillor Catherine Murphy, who has been battling a Fianna Fáil led rezoning campaign in north County Kildare which takes no account of available services, infrastructure or demographic trends. Fianna Fáil has an outrageous record on rezoning which not only destroyed parts of the city but enhanced the coffers of Fianna Fáil or individual members of Fianna Fáil, and it is a tragedy to think that such rezoning continues to this extent in County Kildare.

However, Dublin suffers from many problems and the Minister has addressed some of them, such as transport and planning. The most serious problem confronting the capital city is the crisis of long-term unemployment. Long-term unemployment is geographically clustered and it is concentrated in urban Ireland. It has been concentrated by Fianna Fáil in what are now knows as marginalised communities. They have marginalised people and alienated them from the mainstream of society. They have created ghettos and have the gall to come in here and criticise this Government.

One should look at the Dublin's south innercity and the northside of Cork and see the sprawling estates which were created under Fianna Fáil Administrations on the physical and social edges of these cities. These estates are often described as working class but many of the people in them have never worked. It is in these communities that we find children leaving school without qualifications and hope. It is in these communities of urban Ireland that we find families revaged by drug abuse and mothers trying desperately to stave off the moneylenders. The desperation of large sections of urban Ireland did not arise overnight.It is a desperation which developed under successive Fianna Fáil Administrations. The tragedy of the £5,000 incentive to working class people to surrender their local authority houses to move into private housing estates leaving behind ghettos is one of the most criminal political decisions ever taken by a Fianna Fáil Government.

It was proposed by John Boland of Fine Gael.

This Government does not have all the answers and neither does Democratic Left but we have made a brave start. We know 100,000 jobs have been created in the lifetime of this Government and that the live register is at its lowest level since 1991. In Dublin 6,000 new jobs were created in 1996 and the average annual rate of growth in jobs in Dublin from April 1994 to April 1996 was 5.2 per cent, which was well ahead of the national rate. We also know that an extra £14 million is being invested in measures to combat the drugs crisis and in the establishment of local drugs task forces in recognition that the drugs problem must be tackled in partnership with local communities.

I reiterate that long-term unemployment is the key political issue to be addressed by whichever political formation results from the election because the jobs being created at present are by-passing the long-term unemployed. I remind my fellow parliamentarians that last weekend, at Democratic Left's annual delegate conference, I put forward a motion calling for radical State intervention to create real jobs which will pay real wages in the State and community sectors.

Was it accepted?

As Members are aware, that motion was adopted by the conference and it is the only realistic way to break the vicious cycle of long-term unemployment, low educational attainment and social disintegration inherited after Fianna Fáil's period in office. Long-term unemployment is at the top of Democratic Left's political agenda and we intend to ensure that it is placed at the top of the next Government's political agenda.

I do not know whether the Fianna Fáil motion refers to the Dublin which is participating in the current economic boom or the Dublin which finds itself marginalised on the sidelines. However, I know the Dublin I represent. The people I represent would be hardest hit by the policies that would be pursued by a Fianna Fáil Progressive Democrat coalition. I warn the electorate that it will suffer most under Deputy Harney's philosophy of "self-help or no help". It will suffer most when Fianna Fáil reverts to type and places the interests of large farmers above those of PAYE workers and the unemployed. I forewarn my constituents that under no circumstances should they be tempted to support a Government of that complexion.

I propose to share time with Deputies Ray Burke and Noel Ahern.

Acting Chairman

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I wish to refute the allegations made by Deputy Broughan. As far as Deputy Ahern is concerned, he participated in some of the most important and valuable developments in Dublin, particularly on the northside of the city, while in office. These included: the International Financial Services Centre; the renewal of the northside; the partnerships established throughout the city; the support given to voluntary organisations including those representing people with disabilities which protested outside the House earlier today — such organisations have been left to reflect on the support they enjoyed while Fianna Fáil was in office which they have not received since my party entered Opposition — and the refurbishment of Darndale and inner city areas.

I remind Deputy Byrne that his party has been in Government for the introduction of three budgets at a time when increased finance has been available for use in Dublin. The Government has made very bad use of such additional resources. The Deputy referred to long-term unemployment as his party's principle priority. It is correct that this should be the case. In addition to crime, long-term unemployment is one of the major problems we face. However, the rainbow coalition has failed totally in its efforts to tackle poverty and disadvantage, particularly in Dublin. A great many reports have been produced but the Government has failed to deliver results on the ground. It has had three budgets, effectively three years in financial terms, in which to do so.

Huge housing estates in Dublin are riven with the problems of drug abuse, crime, poverty, unemployment and educational disadvantage. The Labour Force Survey illustrates that where the head of a household is unemployed the risk of poverty is very high — an estimated 59 per cent. Long-term unemployment and unemployment in general must be principal targets. Where the head of a household is employed, the risk of poverty is as low as 3 per cent. The survey also shows that 63 per cent of unemployed people are long-term unemployed. Therefore, any Government worthy of support must make tackling long-term unemployment a top priority. Nowhere in the country is this more important than in Dublin.

The number of unemployed people was decreasing steadily under the Fianna Fáil-Labour Government. We were on target for an average rate of 266,000 people on the live register for 1995. However, something went seriously wrong when the rainbow coalition came to power in late December 1994. Although the numbers of those at work continue to rise, the number of people out of work rose to 277,000 in 1995. That figure represents the average number of people paid unemployment benefit or assistance by the Department of Social Welfare in each week of the year. This means that an average of 11,000 additional people were unemployed during each week in 1995 and it represents a substantial excess over the trend that was in place when Fianna Fáil handed over the reins of power to the rainbow coalition. That figure further disimproved to 279,000 people unemployed, on average, during every week in 1996. This is the rainbow coalition's record and it is a bad one.

We can and must do better. More than 66 per cent of the long-term unemployed are males and 77 per cent of those unemployed and aged between 40 and 54 years are long-term unemployed.In addition, approximately 50 per cent of those who are long-term unemployed did not proceed beyond primary school level in formal education.Therefore, one of our major problems is the high number of men with educational disadvantage who are approaching middle age, are long-term unemployed and are concentrated in disadvantaged communities. This is a major problem in Dublin and my party has plans to tackle it. The current Administration does not appear to have any ideas in that area.

I wish to deal with the transport aspect of this excellent motion, which I was honoured to sign with my colleagues from the Dublin constituencies. I am concerned about the totally inadequate rail service which my constituents from Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Donabate, Malahide and Portmarnock are forced to use when travelling to and from work, college and school. A survey I carried out on the trains used on the route showed that they are totally over-crowded, the service is inadequate, the timetable is unsuitable and the passengers are concerned for their safety. Approximately 96 per cent of the people questioned referred to overcrowding on these trains.

We are determined to seek the provision of a greater number of carriages and trains at peak times, later trains from the city in the evenings, a Sunday train service, later trains on Saturday evenings, a proper PA system on trains and platforms, better access for the disabled, properly enforced smoking bans and improved station facilities, such as public telephones, security in car parks, proper toilet facilities, automated ticket machines and better lighting. These are fundamental provisions to which paying customers should be entitled when travelling to and from work. At present, the transport provided is more akin to cattle trucks than to a commuter train service.People should not be asked to endure that kind of service in this day and age. These trains are unsafe and action is required.

I want to press strongly for a rail or DART connection to Dublin Airport. At present, many concrete car parks are being put in place which is ludicrous. A proper rail connection to allow for the increasing numbers of passengers using Dublin Airport is needed.

My final point relates to the unbelievable and unacceptable delays experienced by motorists on the section of the main Dublin to Belfast road which leads from Swords into the city. Each morning people spend 15 to 20 minutes making a journey which would normally take only one to two minutes. It makes no sense from an economic point of view. The degree of frustration experienced morning and evening is totally unacceptable. Will the Minister do something about it immediately?

The Government amendment, a mere summary of all the good things that happened in Dublin in recent years — including some projects kept going but none initiated by this Government — is a joke.

I had been listening to another channel upstairs and switched over only to hear the usual twisted garbage produced by my constituency colleague, Deputy Shortall, as she recited a list of local issues she claimed had been tackled by this Government. For example, she spoke about St. Aidan's School. The Minister came and cut the tape, as typically Government Ministers arrived in their Mercedes to cut tapes or put the final touch to decisions undertaken by previous Governments when my party was in power. It is galling to listen to Deputy Shortall claim credit for projects in which her party had no hand, act or part.

She spoke also about the comprehensive school and Holy Spirit schools in Ballymun where work was approved a couple of years ago when Fianna Fáil was in power. The repair of the leaking roof of the comprehensive school, having been approved in 1994 under the Fianna Fáil-Labour Government, was not completed in that year because of some contract problem. It was omitted from the approved list in 1995, only to be reinstated within the past nine months. It is sickening to listen to such nonsense.

Perhaps Deputy Shortall was feeling flush at the announcement today of one piece of good news in Dublin North-West, by way of amendment of the Finance Bill, of a site to be designated in Finglas. While I welcome that proposal, it represents the politics of the latest opinion poll that such projects are pulled out of the bag. Nothing occurred in that constituency over the past two and a half years. I hope the experience has helped Deputy Shortall to grow up, to realise that real life is about jobs rather than speaking a load of nonsense. I hope the experience of having consulted developers and promoters in recent months has not contaminated her in any way and that she will withstand the test in the forthcoming general election.

Dublin has done well in recent years but I must emphasise that that boom and its benefits have not been spread evenly around the city. When this Government came into power early in 1995 there was a proposal to locate a huge science and technology park in Abbotstown College, just beyond Finglas in my constituency. It was recommended by consultants appointed by the European Union, before any politician touched the file. We thought we were very fortunate in Dublin North-West to have had one of our public representatives appointed Minister for Social Welfare, that at the very least he would hold the position and ensure that that science and technology park was located in Abbotstown College since Finglas was such an employment black spot. That science and technology park was not swiped by a Fine Gael or Labour Minister but by the Minister for Social Welfare's own three-quarters Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, who diverted it to Dublin South-West. One of the steering committee's recommendations on the location of a regional technical college emphasised that Finglas was the area of greatest unemployment in the city and most in need of an regional technical college. It appears the Government's attitude to the people of Finglas was that they might as well remain unemployed and that in the long-term Blanchardstown would be more in need.

Dublin North-West has received nothing. We read many of these flashy announcements of good news but the benefits of the boom have not been spread evenly. It is sickening to hear Members claim credit for things that happened some five to ten years ago while not attempting to address the real problems and issues. Undoubtedly there is wealth and growth in the economy but it is not being spread evenly. Huge suburbs have been totally excluded. Even when it comes to large infrastructural projects, such as the proposed convention centre, one is forced to ask where this great socialist Government, with two so-called socialist parties, proposes to locate that centre. None other than in Ballsbridge rather than in any needy suburb. The Government pays much lip service to social concern, yet whenever it takes a big decision in regard to something that would really change people's lives in a particular area, they favour Ballsbridge in Dublin 4.

No progress has been made on major infrastructural projects such as the convention centre, the Dublin port tunnel and the ring road. Another Minister opened the northern section of the ring road in December last, copper-fastening something decided some five to seven years ago while anything at planning stage remains static. The port tunnel is bogged down, as are the southern cross route and the convention centre.

At local authority level all I witness are representatives of the three different colours of this rainbow coalition Government talking against one another, afraid to take a decision, going round in circles, adopting the attitude of "let this chalice pass from me". They should call the general election and get on with it. Some of them would not take a decision in a thousand years. They are afraid to bite the bullet and run with all objectors. While that may be all right for some mindless Opposition party, when in Government one cannot adopt that attitude.

I hope the Deputy is not referring to himself.

No, I am talking about parties born and bred to be in Opposition, some of whom might unfortunately be in Government at present.

Another issue left in abeyance was the proposed Luas line to Ballymun, but the Government decided to implement the two lines on the south side of the city. However, the prospect of a north side line now being mooted. I am most disappointed that no progress has been made on any of these planned infrastructural developments.Those that have progressed were approved by previous Governments. I fail to understand how the Government could table this amendment.

As a Dublin Deputy I welcome this opportunity to focus on and relate my remarks to the state of the capital and its quality of life, in particular those aspects of the motion pertaining to transport infrastructure, roads etc.

Dublin is a fantastic city in which to live. It is the envy of many other cities, with beautiful natural characteristics, a magnificent sweeping bay and in close proximity to the mountains. The many thousands who have the good fortune to live here are happy and fortunate.

Representing Dublin South, it has been my experience that this "feel good factor", this delight in being a resident of our great capital city, is being severely diminished by two factors, first, the high level of crime and, second, the chronic traffic chaos its citizens daily experience as they go about their business.

We are now probably at the worst possible stage. There has been too much development in Dublin's suburbs which has been not properly integrated or progressed in tandem with the requisite infrastructure. This follows many wrong decisions taken on land rezoning for housing development in the county some ten years or so ago, certainly in my constituency. Planning in the Dublin area and in the suburbs has failed. The failure to interface proper planning and development with roads planning means thousands of commuters who have to come into the city either to study or work are faced with chronic traffic problems daily, which severely diminishes their quality of life. People in my constituency of Dublin South have become politicised by the bad state of traffic management in their areas. The failure to complete the Southern Cross has meant chronic levels of traffic have built up on the routes leading off that part of the C ring which is completed, causing maximum delays for thousands of my constituents on a daily basis. The most frequent representations to me concern traffic volumes in the constituency, bad traffic management and the non-enforcement of the traffic regulations in built-up residential areas. We have reached a crisis. For that reason the Progressive Democrats Party has always welcomed and supported the Luas project which is only one part of the alleviation——

Did Deputy Molloy support it?

Of course we supported the Luas project. This is the sort of anti-intellectual argument we get from the Labour Party. Anybody who raises legitimate concerns about the project is accused of not supporting it. That is a dishonest argument from a Minister of State — with whom I represent the constituency — who knows full well that all of us in this House want a properly functioning Luas system and the best value for taxpayers' money. It is deeply dishonest for a Minister to imply that if a Deputy challenges certain aspects of the project he is speaking against the project. That is part of democratic debate. It is disingenuous and disappointing for a Minister to make that type of flippant remark.

The Progressive Democrats Party has consistently called for the provision of a rapid rail transit service for Dublin. I was a member of the Dublin Transportation Initiative at local authority level. There was some involvement by local councillors in the DTI but it was a cod because the main decisions were made by the technical and steering committees of that body. It was a cosmetic exercise to have councillors involved in a so-called consultation process, given that none of the representations or concerns voiced affected the Minister's final decision.

It is important to get the best system in relation to Luas and one capable of doing the job for which it is designed given that up to £250 million of public money is going into this project. A number of questions will have to be raised about the Luas proposal as it stands. Why will there not be an interchange with the DART to provide an integrated rapid transit system for the whole city? Why will there not be an extension to the airport, even though it is planned to build the line to within a couple of miles of it? Why will there not be a segregated track on most of the route? Luas trams — like the buses — will have to negotiate the city traffic.

Why is the southern terminus not being extended to Sandyford Industrial Estate, given the generally recognised unsuitability of having the terminus in Dundrum village which is snarled up with traffic? Dundrum is the worst place in which to have the terminus. It would make ultimate sense to extend it to Sandyford where there is more room for parking and it would serve the Sandyford Industrial Estate where thousands of people work. Why will the Tallaght line take a circuitous route through the thinly populated Naas road area? Why will the special reservation from Tallaght to Harold's Cross not be used to provide a shorter and faster route through a much more densely populated area? Why was it decided to bring the line through the Red Cow roundabout at the junction of the M7 and the M50 and what will it cost? Why was the contract awarded to a State company, without a tendering process? Why was the contract for the largest rail project in the history of the State awarded to CIE's bus subsidiary and not to its rail subsidiary? These are all reasonable questions which deserve reasonable answers. The last question is particularly interesting.

Dublin Bus has been charged with charged with responsibility for the construction of a massive rail project but Dublin Bus is a bus company, not a rail company or a construction management company. To the best of my knowledge it has no experience in dealing with large scale building projects. Who decided that Dublin Bus was the best company to manage the Luas project? Dublin Bus finds it hard enough to cope with the relatively simple task of running a quality bus service in the city. How will it cope with the complexities of managing a huge construction project which will involve digging up miles of city streets?

The whole Luas project has been fraught with controversy since it was first mooted. Any criticism of the scheme as presented by the former Minister, Deputy Lowry and his PR team was treated as the equivalent of heresy and people were denounced in almost hysterical terms over the airwaves for having the temerity to question the Government's proposals. That is hardly the way to treat or to go about analysing a major public spending project in a modern democracy.

We all want to see an improvement in public transport in Dublin. It is in the public interest. We all want cars off the city streets so why demonise people who raise valid concerns about the detailed planning of the project? The whole process will be subject to a public inquiry. I hope that will be a better forum for those people who wish to make legitimate criticisms or counter proposals to the Government's project.

I regret the quality of debate on the project was marked by the type of comment made by the Minister of State. If one raises a criticism or takes issue with any part of the Government's proposals one is accused of not supporting the project.It is disingenuous, dishonest and anti-intellectual.That has marked the debate on Luas, on which there should be a full and legitimate debate. It is a major infrastructural project and is possibly the biggest infrastructural project which will be carried out here over the next ten years.

There has been much legitimate argument about the so-called underground option. My party has requested the financial feasibility of this option be investigated by independent consultants.The former Minister, Deputy Lowry, would not allow this and neither will his successor, Deputy Dukes. I find this hard to understand particularly since the former leader of Fine Gael has made some valid criticisms and proposals in relation to the underground option between the canals. It is not a matter of ideology. It is not as if we have underground and overground politicians. What we have is two competing suggestions as to how the proposed system should go through the city centre area. There is prima facie evidence that the underground option may be no more expensive to build than the on-street alternative. There is strong evidence that it may be cheaper to operate and compelling evidence that it would be much faster in terms of journey time.

What has the Government to lose by commissioning independent consultants to investigate these two options given the degree of legitimate concerns raised about the chaos that will ensure by digging up city streets rather than having an underground service between the canals? The Government spent £4 million on consultants to tell us to which bidders it should sell a stake in Telecom Éireann even though there was only one bidder. It can surely afford a much smaller consultancy fee for this major project.

Forfás produced a major report on the Irish economy last year specifically highlighting the need to encourage private sector provision of public infrastructure, particularly in the area of transport. It is common practice in other countries.In Britain, the new Severn bridge was opened a few months ago at a cost of £300 million and the British Government did not have to provide a penny for that project. Closer to home, the East Link and West Link bridges have been a success and an example of how private money can be used to provide public facilities. No effort is being made by the Government to attract private finance for Luas. There are private sector companies operating in the international market which would welcome the opportunity to bid for a project such as Luas. It is a pity the Government is so lacking in innovation and imagination when it comes to the funding of major capital projects and has been unwilling to engage in a full debate on this project which is of major significance and involves millions of pounds of taxpayers' money.

I have been a public representative for 18 years in Dublin and the biggest issue I have had to deal with has been the indiscriminate rezoning of lands around Dublin led by the Fianna Fáil Party, particularly in the foothills of the Dublin mountains to which Deputy O'Donnell referred. At the same time, there were 160 acres of derelict land in downtown Dublin owned by people waiting for office block prices while others could not find homes, particularly in the city centre. Over the past three or four years, there has been a revitalisation of Dublin city centre. It has been led by imaginative proposals which have targeted tax breaks. In the absence of tax breaks, nothing happened.People were waiting for the rezoning to extend to other areas but, as soon as certain areas were targeted, people began to erect housing downtown and the population increased in Dublin city centre. My sister acted as a census enumerator in that area and additional enumerators had to be employed because the revitalisation of the city centre had moved ahead at such a pace.

We can be proud of the city centre. It is no longer pock marked by derelict sites which resulted from the diversion of housing development to the city fringes where people received ten fold increases in land values through indiscriminate rezoning. Dublin is a vibrant and attractive city attracting jobs and investment. Over the past three years, 19,000 extra jobs have been created here. Recently a firm decided to locate in Dublin rather than in Edinburgh because it was a more attractive city not only in terms of its workforce but the firm needed to attract foreign graduates with minority languages and Dublin was regarded as the more attractive city in which to live.

When I was appointed, I was given responsibility for allocating EU Structural Funds. I allocated £600 million towards road and transport investment and £34 million towards traffic management in Dublin. I agree we need to invest significantly in public transport to break gridlock in the city and to ensure people can switch from commuting by private car to public transport. Quality public transport is needed to attract people to leave their cars at home. In the previous round of Structural Funds there was virtually nil investment in public transport and I am proud to have been able to allocate funding towards the Luas project. I confidently look forward to travelling into town from my home in Sandyford in a short couple of months.

In a short couple of months? The Minister of State will be taking the bus.

A number of Deputies raised the delays in relation to the building of the southern cross route. These were due to a High Court challenge by the Whitechurch Parish and associated residents and a Supreme Court challenge by a garage in Sandyford. The case did not leave the courts until 13 December 1996. No public body was responsible for any hold up.

In education, £50 million has been allocated for investment in expanding the number of third level places in the greater Dublin area and there has been increased funding for primary and second level schools. Education policy under Deputy Bhreathnach has had a particular focus on breaking the cycle of disadvantage. Twenty five city schools have been designated under the breaking the cycle initiative. I recently spoke to a teacher who teaches senior infants in an inner city school. She told me that in that area, which is one of Dublin's worst blackspots, the children were doing first class reading and were a year ahead because of the extra help provided under the initiative.

Education is the key to breaking the cycle because if we ensure children and young people receive an education we can provide them with a much better start in life and ensure they do not become tomorrow's long-term unemployed. The number of students leaving school before they reached the junior certificate stage when Deputy Bhreathnach entered office was 5,000. This has been halved as a result of specific investment in breaking the cycle of disadvantage. One hundred and sixty-one schools in the greater Dublin area are designated as disadvantaged. They now have a better pupil-teacher ratio and receive more resources.

In 1991, I was secretary of the national campaign for the homeless and many years ago was involved with the Dublin housing action committee.Under the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government of the time the housing programme had been all but abandoned — 231 local authority house were provided that year. That was increased to 1,351 houses in 1996 and the housing lists are reducing. I am delighted that £180 million will be invested in the Ballymun high rise apartments which were one of the worst examples of social engineering perpetuated by Kevin Boland in 1966.

In Structural Funds programmes we have directed resources towards unemployment blackspots through the local development programme. We introduced the local employment service and have added unemployment blackspots in south Dublin to the previous partnership areas. There is an assault on the root causes of disadvantage in the Dublin area.

Dublin is my city. I have great respect and regard for its history, people, environment and ambience and it is a privilege to live here. One aspect of the city that should be praised is its public parks. They are a credit to the people who look after them. Merrion Square contains one of the finest public parks in the world. I have not seen anything better and it is a magnificent tribute to those who look after it. It is a flagship for all other public parks in the city and county of Dublin. I pay tribute to the people in the various local authorities who look after these parks.

I understand that attack is the best form of defence but what the opening paragraphs of the Minister of State's speech have to do with the motion is a mystery. Parts of Dublin are neglected.This was evident in the Dublin West by-election won by Fianna Fáil when the Labour Party was effectively wiped out. Great emphasis is placed on the Celtic tiger but there is a cycle of poverty and deprivation and if we fail to break it, it will be to the detriment of our democracy.

There was a certain radicalism when the people properly — I say that advisedly — rose up in their communities against the drug barons and the use of drugs in the city centre. One could not but have sympathy for them. There is an economic boom thanks to the efforts of successive Governments but we should not be complacent. If we fail to keep in contact with communities in certain parts of the city and the county that are afflicted by enormous social problems which need to be dealt with urgently and which lack community centres, a proper bus service, adequate infrastructural facilities and so on, we will sow the seeds of discontent for the future. We neglect them at our peril.

I support the Garda Síochána in its strong efforts to deal with the drugs problem which extends to the prosperous borough of Dún Laoghaire which I have represented for many years. There is a lack of local authority housing, including social housing, in the constituency. I have to explain to constituents on a weekly basis at my clinics that they should not expect to receive a house for at least a year.

The Minister of State has boasted that £35 million is being spent in urging commuters to use public transport to break the gridlock in the arteries into the centre of the city. There is no evidence, however, that it is working. If the Minister of State wishes to boast, she should do so where no one can hear her. Those of us who encounter long delays on a daily basis are outraged at the lack of activity.

I love the city of Dublin in which I was born and reared. It is my town. It is a wonderful place for a variety of reasons. Its people are special and famous for their hospitality. That is the reason so many people visit it, not to mention the fun that they have during the day and at night having visited places of importance. The same cannot be said of other cities.

The motion highlights the problems that we believe exist in the city of Dublin. There are the huge problems of drugs and crime and the related problems of poverty and social exclusion. I welcome the Breaking the Cycle programme introduced in 25 schools by the Minister for Education.It is a good idea in principle but we are only scratching at the surface. As so many people were appalled at the scale of the problem, following the Dublin West by-election Fianna Fáil established a committee to consider it. It has had discussions with people from all strands of society and will publish a document shortly. The only reason it has not been published before now is that so many people wish to make submissions to it. The problem is not being tackled with urgency. It is a matter for each Member of the House to ensure the necessary resources are made available.

Ten years ago we were told by many economic commentators that the country was in dire economic straits. The position has changed completely.In the next ten years I hope we will tackle the problems of poverty and social exclusion with the same energy and effort that we tackled our economic problems. We must solve them.

The Government has shown a lack of imagination in its amendment to the motion. The operational programme for transport is funded from the Structural Funds negotiated by Deputy Reynolds. Many commentators said at the time that he was talking nonsense when he said he would receive the money he was seeking. Water and sewerage schemes are funded from the same source. The urban renewal schemes which have had a significant impact, particularly in Temple Bar and the Custom House Docks area, were Fianna Fáil initiatives introduced by Mr. Haughey. Fianna Fáil can also claim credit for the light rail system. The significant range of measures now in place to tackle long-term unemployment is funded from the ESF negotiated by Padraig Flynn.

I agree, however, with the statement that progress has been made in meeting social housing needs in the Dublin area and welcome the Government's commitment to the comprehensive development and regeneration of the Ballymun estate. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority Bill is also welcome.

The amendment commends the Government for the sustained and wide-ranging improvements in the health and personal social services implemented in Dublin but I see no evidence of this. I constantly receive complaints about the long queues. The workers out on strike are extremely annoyed at the way they are being treated. Much of the work on the Tallaght hospital project was done by Fianna Fáil. The amendment also commends the Government for the significant increase in education services in Dublin city and county but Tallaght Regional Technical College and Dublin City University were Fianna Fáil initiatives.

The Government has shown a lack of imagination in tackling the problems of drugs, social exclusion, poverty and deprivation. All of the Deputies for the constituency of Dublin South East were recently asked by the Jesuits to speak at a conference on social deprivation which was attended by people from the inner city. The problem is now so serious that if we fail to provide the necessary resources we will be very sorry in the time to come. We must treat all the children of the nation equally. As the father of three children, I get embarrassed when I think of the future facing these people. The most important way of tackling this problem is through education. While the breaking the cycle initiative was a fantastic idea it is not extensive enough. A school principal in one of these areas told me that only 8 per cent of her pupils have a normal family life. This gives an indication of the extent of the problem with which we have to deal. If we do not tackle this problem we will be sorry in the coming years. This challenge must be met by the House.

Amendment put.
The Dáil divided: Tá, 77; Níl, 59.

  • Ahearn, Theresa.
  • Allen, Bernard.
  • Barrett, Seán.
  • Barry, Peter.
  • Bell, Michael.
  • Bhamjee, Moosajee.
  • Boylan, Andrew.
  • Bradford, Paul.
  • Bree, Declan.
  • Broughan, Thomas.
  • Browne, John (Carlow-Kilkenny).
  • Bruton, John.
  • Bruton, Richard.
  • Burke, Liam.
  • Burton, Joan.
  • Byrne, Eric.
  • Carey, Donal.
  • Connaughton, Paul.
  • Connor, John.
  • Costello, Joe.
  • Crawford, Seymour.
  • Creed, Michael.
  • Crowley, Frank.
  • Deasy, Austin.
  • Deenihan, Jimmy.
  • Durkan, Bernard.
  • Mitchell, Jim.
  • Moynihan-Cronin, Breeda.
  • Mulvihill, John.
  • Nealon, Ted.
  • Noonan, Michael (Limerick East).
  • O'Keeffe, Jim.
  • O'Shea, Brian.
  • O'Sullivan, Toddy.
  • Owen, Nora.
  • Pattison, Séamus.
  • Penrose, William.
  • Rabbitte, Pat.
  • Ring, Michael.
  • Ferris, Michael.
  • Finucane, Michael.
  • Fitzgerald, Brian.
  • Fitzgerald, Eithne.
  • Fitzgerald, Frances.
  • Flaherty, Mary.
  • Flanagan, Charles.
  • Gallagher, Pat (Laoighis-Offaly).
  • Gilmore, Eamon.
  • Harte, Paddy.
  • Higgins, Jim.
  • Higgins, Michael.
  • Hogan, Philip.
  • Howlin, Brendan.
  • Kavanagh, Liam.
  • Kemmy, Jim.
  • Kenny, Enda.
  • Kenny, Seán.
  • Lynch, Kathleen.
  • McCormack, Pádraic.
  • McDowell, Derek.
  • McGahon, Brendan.
  • McGinley, Dinny.
  • McGrath, Paul.
  • McManus, Liz.
  • Mitchell, Gay.
  • Ryan, John.
  • Ryan, Seán.
  • Shatter, Alan.
  • Sheehan, P.J.
  • Shortall, Róisín.
  • Spring, Dick.
  • Stagg, Emmet.
  • Taylor, Mervyn.
  • Timmins, Godfrey.
  • Upton, Pat.
  • Walsh, Éamon.
  • Yates, Ivan.

Níl

  • Ahern, Bertie.
  • Ahern, Dermot.
  • Ahern, Michael.
  • Ahern, Noel.
  • Andrews, David.
  • Aylward, Liam.
  • Brennan, Matt.
  • Brennan, Séamus.
  • Briscoe, Ben.
  • Browne, John (Wexford).
  • Burke, Raphael.
  • Byrne, Hugh.
  • Callely, Ivor.
  • Coughlan, Mary.
  • Cowen, Brian.
  • Cullen, Martin.
  • Davern, Noel.
  • de Valera, Síle.
  • Dempsey, Noel.
  • Doherty, Seán.
  • Ellis, John.
  • Fitzgerald, Liam.
  • Flood, Chris.
  • Foley, Denis.
  • Fox, Mildred.
  • Gregory, Tony.
  • Harney, Mary.
  • Haughey, Seán.
  • Jacob, Joe.
  • Keaveney, Cecilia.
  • Kenneally, Brendan.
  • Keogh, Helen.
  • Kirk, Séamus.
  • Kitt, Michael.
  • Kitt, Tom.
  • Lawlor, Liam.
  • Lenihan, Brian.
  • Leonard, Jimmy.
  • Martin, Micheál.
  • McDaid, James.
  • Moffatt, Tom.
  • Molloy, Robert.
  • Moynihan, Donal.
  • Nolan, M.J.
  • Ó Cuív, Éamon.
  • O'Donnell, Liz.
  • O'Donoghue, John.
  • O'Hanlon, Rory.
  • O'Leary, John.
  • Quill, Máirín.
  • Ryan, Eoin.
  • Sargent, Trevor.
  • Smith, Brendan.
  • Smith, Michael.
  • Treacy, Noel.
  • Wallace, Mary.
  • Walsh, Joe.
  • Woods, Michael.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies J. Higgins and B. Fitzgerald; Níl, Deputies D. Ahern and Callely.
Amendment declared carried.
Motion, as amended, put and agreed to.
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