I have been concerned for a long time about the need to improve the centre of Dublin which has so much cultural, historical and architectural significance. Anybody who has the interests of Dublin at heart must surely feel sad at the manner in which the main thoroughfares of the capital have declined in recent years. Insensitive development, tasteless advertising signs, litter and excessive traffic have all contributed to a degradation of the environment of O'Connell Street and the surrounding streets. I believe it is time for all concerned to take a hard look at what has been happening to the centre of our capital city.
The area should be a showpiece of architectural sensitivity and environmental awareness but instead we have created a soulless environment which is neither attractive nor pleasant. The present condition of the city centre leads to a general attitude of carelessness and lack of concern on the part of developers, commercial interests and the public generally and consequently a fall off in business in the area. I believe that enlightened thinking and imaginative decision making are badly needed to revive the heart of the metropolis and to make the surroundings in Dublin city centre area more pleasant for visitors and tourists, as well as for Dubliners themselves.
The Bill now before this House was first published last June and received at that time a very favourable response from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, the Dublin City Centre Business Association, Bord Fáilte, various other bodies and from ordinary Dubliners. I had hoped to have the legislation enacted before the summer recess and the commission established and in operation long before now but this target was frustrated and, as a result, valuable time has been lost.
The Bill provides for the establishment of a Dublin metropolitan streets commission for a three year period. The general duty of this commission will be to secure an improvement in environmental conditions, in the level of civic amenity and in the standard of civic design in the metropolitan central area. This area is defined in the First Schedule to the Bill as that part of the centre of Dublin running from O'Connell Street through West-moreland Street, D'Olier Street and College Green to Grafton Street. It is an area which provides prime shopping facilities but should also be a suitable place for Dubliners and visitors to congregate for the simple purpose of enjoyment, as they did in years gone by. Occasional efforts by Dublin Corporation and other organisations to provide concerts, street carnival or lunchtime recitals in the area show how people can be attracted to come to the centre of the city and use its facilities, but we need to do far more than this to revive the area. In particular, we must restore the physical fabric of the area to a condition that befits its status.
For many people, O'Connell Street is synonomous with Dublin but this fine thoroughfare has declined sadly over the years. Some of its famous old landmarks have disappeared and the frontages of many of the buildings are, I am afraid, living proof that planning control does not always work. We have failed to make the best use of the enormous 150 foot width of O'Connell Street where the central median or island has enormous potential. The importance of this median was emphasised in 1981 in a policy statement issued by my party on Dublin which proposed the development of a magnificent pedestrian mall in the centre of O'Connell Street, running from the Parnell monument to the O'Connell monument, and adequately protected from traffic. This mall would be tastefully landscaped and planted and contain shopping kiosks and open air cafe facilities. There would be carefully designed street furnishings and special decorative lighting to encourage the night time use and enjoyment of this new leisure mall in Dublin's city centre. In addition, a fountain or other special feature was proposed as a focal point. All of this can be achieved, and within a reasonable time-scale, under the special provisions of the present Bill.
The Government's decision to set up the Dublin metropolitan streets commission is a recognition of the fact that urgent action and a concentration of resources is needed if the revitalisation of the city centre area is to be successfully achieved. The commission are being established for a three year period with a mandate to secure an improvement in the general appearance and condition of the metropolitan central area. Their functions will relate to pedestrianisation, traffic and car parking arrangements, road repair, streetscapes, building facades, advertising signs, street cleansing, litter, amenity facilities and street furniture generally. In effect, the commission will assume the litter prevention and road cleansing and repair functions of Dublin Corporation and the traffic management functions of the Dublin Transport Authority for the area.
The commission will have power to require property owners to remove or alter any structure, or any structure of a particular class, and to provide suitable replacements, if appropriate. They will also have power to require property owners, where this is in the interests of the amenity and general improvement of the area, to discontinue any use of and to remove, alter, repair or tidy any advertisement or advertisement structure. These powers will enable the commission, having assessed the quality of the architectural fabric in the area, to deal with buildings whose facades produce functional and visual conflicts which impinge on the appearance of the area or to tackle uses which are inappropriate in the area. These are important powers and while I would not expect that the commission will need to make extensive use of them, changes in some structures and uses seem inevitable in order to upgrade the area generally. I hope that many such changes will come about through a process of discussion and negotiation and that property owners will come to accept that it will be of direct benefit to them to co-operate in early implementation of the commission's improvement scheme. Compensation will be payable, where necessary, for loss suffered as a result of the removal or alteration of an authorised structure or the discontinuance of an authorised use.
The commission will have a duty to prepare an improvement scheme for the area outlining the measures needed to renew and improve the area. This scheme will reinforce and complement the planning system. All development in the area, whether carried out by the commission or by other persons, will be exempted development for the purposes of the planning Acts where it is certified to be consistent with an improvement scheme prepared and approved under section 6. In addition, Dublin Corporation or An Bord Pleanála, in determining a planning application relating to development in the area, must have regard to the provisions of an improvement scheme and permission for a proposed development may not be granted without the consent of the commission, if it would materially contravene the provisions of that scheme. The consent of the commission may also be required before permission is granted for development which is of a class specified in regulations made.
The commission will have up to seven members. It will receive up to £10 million from State funds over the three years of its life. It will also receive a contribution in lieu of expenses which would normally have been incurred by the corporation in the area, for example on litter prevention or street cleansing. After three years, the commission will be dissolved and its functions will transfer back to Dublin Corporation and the Dublin Transport Authority. It is the intention, however, that the area should retain a special status and with that in mind the provision in section 2 (3) of the Bill will remain as a permanent feature of the law. Under this section, Dublin Corporation, in the discharge of its functions, must have regard to the special importance, in the national interest, of the metropolitan central area and to the need in that interest to ensure a high environmental standard and a high standard of civic amenity and civic design in the area. In this way, the work of the commission will be preserved.
I am satisfied that the Bill does not present any threat to local democracy and would like to take the opportunity to allay any fears concerning the role of Dublin Corporation. The corporation carries a heavy burden in generally administering local service in the county borough as a whole. I believe that, given the varied responsibilities of the corporation, a new body is needed to give a once-off boost to the area and provide the necessary concentration of resources. This part of the city is a national asset and deserves immediate and special attention if progress is to be made towards the desired regeneration. The corporation will have a major part to play in assisting the commission in the implementation of its functions and specific arrangements can be made for co-operation between the two bodies. There is no question of a permanent erosion of powers: after three years, the powers assigned from the corporation to the commission will be automatically transferred back to the corporation.
I am pleased that the proposal to establish the commission has been welcomed by business representatives in the area, by tourist and environmental groups and by the public at large. I hope — and indeed feel confident — that these groups, particularly the business community, will co-operate fully with the commission. Their response will be a crucial factor in securing the objectives of the improvement scheme for the area.
A detailed explanatory memorandum has already been circulated with the Bill and I do not therefore propose to deal at this stage with all of the individual sections. It is appropriate, however, to draw attention to the main operative provisions in sections 6 to 12.
Section 6 provides that the commission shall prepare an improvement scheme or schemes for the area. The scheme or schemes will be the blueprint for action in the area and will require the approval of the Minister. All development that is carried out in the area by the commission itself and all other development which is certified by the commission to be consistent with an improvement scheme prepared and approved under the section will be exempted development for the purposes of the planning Acts. Other development in the area requiring planning permission must not materially contravene the provisions of a scheme made and approved under the section unless the commission consents. The section also provides that the Minister may prescribe certain types of development for which permission may not be granted without the consent of the commission.
Section 7 provides for the transfer from Dublin Corporation to the commission of all functions in relation to the construction, maintenance and improvement of public roads in the metropolitan central area. This will, for example, enable the commission to introduce pedestrianised areas, with special paving or better quality footpaths if they consider these to be needed. Section 8 provides for the transfer of a variety of traffic management functions in the metropolitan central area from the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána and the Dublin Transport Authority to the commission.
Section 9 will confer on the commission the powers available to local authorities in relation to refuse collection and litter prevention and control. This is an important provision as it is imperative that whatever measures are needed should be taken to counter the litter problem and to provide a refuse collection and removal service more appropriate to conditions in the area.
Section 11 will enable the commission to serve a notice requiring the removal or alteration of a structure, the discontinuance of a use, or the removal, alteration, repair or tidying of an advertisement structure or advertisement where this is provided for in an improvement scheme which has been made and approved under section 6. In the event of failure on the part of the owner to comply with a notice under the section, the commission may enter on the land and carry out the specified works itself and, where the structure is unauthorised, recover the cost from the owners. Continuance of a use in contravention of a notice will be an offence, the penalty for which, on summary conviction, will be a fine not exceeding £1,000. The provisions contained in section 11 in relation to compensation are based entirely on corresponding provisions in the 1963 Planning Act and are the minimum necessary having regard to the constitutional provisions relating to private property. Compensation will only be payable where a person who is an owner or occupier of a structure in the metropolitan central area is served with a notice under section 11 and suffers damage by compliance with the notice. Compensation will only be payable in the case of authorised structures or uses. There will be no payments in respect of premises outside the area. I do not expect that there will be great need for the use of section 11 as I expect there will be a good deal of co-operation from owners in improving premises at their own expense. I do not therefore, envisage that a significant proportion of the commission's resources will be absorbed by compensation payments. However, as a safeguard against the likelihood of large compensation claims, I will be using my powers under sections 10 (8) and 12 of the Bill to give a directive to the commission on the need, in operating section 11, to consider the possible consequences of their actions and the limited resources available to them.
Section 12 provides for the making of grants of up to £10 million to the commission, to cover the costs of improvement works in the area. In addition, the commission will, under section 12 (3), receive an agreed contribution from Dublin Corporation in lieu of expenses that would otherwise have been incurred by them in the metropolitan central area. This would be in respect of, for example, litter control or refuse collection activities in the area which would be carried out by the commission instead of the corporation. There is provision for the determination by the Minister of the amount involved in the event of any disagreement.
This is an important Bill and one which I believe should be passed into law as soon as possible. There is an urgent need to enhance the quality of the centre of the capital city and I am convinced that the establishment of the Dublin metropolitan streets commission is the best way to achieve this.