asked the Minister for the Environment the actions or activities which he proposes to undertake within the next 12 months with regard to improving the employment prospects and quality of life generally of people in the Dublin north-inner city area.
Written Answers - Dublin North-Inner City.
40.
A major initiative for urban renewal and reconstruction in the north inner-city of Dublin will be firmly under way with the enactment of the Urban Renewal Bill, 1986, and the Finance Bill, which provide for a range of taxation incentives to promote development and reconstruction in designated areas.
The revised scheme of house improvement grants will secure the rehabilitation of many older houses in all inner-city areas and increase employment in local construction activity. Meanwhile, the work of the central city housing development programme of Dublin Corporation continues. Large numbers of new dwellings have been constructed in the inner city of Dublin over the past decade and particularly in the north-inner city. Plans are at present at an advanced stage to provide the following housing schemes:—
|
Scheme |
No. of houses |
|
Benburb Street |
9 |
|
Seán MacDermott Street- Gardiner Street — Section B |
44 |
|
Phibsboro Road (Phase 4) |
28 |
|
Phibsboro Road (Phase 5) |
17 |
|
Liffey Street (West) |
6 |
|
Railway Street-Buckingham |
|
|
Street-Beaver Street |
20 |
|
Portland Row (Phase 2) |
31 |
|
155 |
A sum of £5,000,000 is available in my Department's Vote for 1986 for the provision of recreational amenity facilities. Of this amount, grants totalling £1,945,000 have been allocated to Dublin Corporation in respect of 24 projects.
The projects being assisted in the north-inner city area are for the provision of a sports hall in Stoneybatter, outdoor recreational facilities in Sheriff Street and in the East Wall-Clontarf district and the floodlighting and improvement of existing football-tennis facilities in Ventry Park, Cabra. The grant assistance available for these projects is £550,000 and I understand they will provide employment for some 40 people for a three-12 month period.
The Dublin Corporation Library at the ILAC Centre will be officially opened on 10 June 1986, and will employ a staff of 31 (including 14 new posts). The library, which will have a total floor area of 22,650 sq. ft. will provide wide ranging public library and ancillary services, including lending and reference services, a commerce library, music services (including recitals and music programmes in the library) and audio visual services (including language learning, picture lending and exhibitions).
Provision of £300,000 by way of grant-in-aid in 1986 has been made in my Department's Vote for the Dublin inner-city programme and fund. The fund, which, as part of the Government's devolution policy, is now administered by Dublin Corporation, provides financial assistance for a variety of projects of a social, economic, educational recreational or environmental nature which can make a significant contribution to the rehabilitation of the inner city generally. A sum of £24,000 has recently been allocated from the fund for a pilot scheme linked to the existing employment incentive scheme, to provide an additional incentive for up to 100 inner-city employees.
In continuance of the devolution policy and as outlined in the policy statement on the reform of local government published last year, legislation to be published later this year will provide for the establishment of district councils within the city area comprised of the city council members for the districts concerned. The intention is that these councils will make local government in Dublin more accessible and they will be able to address themselves closely to the needs of particular areas.
41.
asked the Minister for Defence the actions or activities which he proposes to undertake within the next 12 months with regard to improving the employment prospects and quality of life generally of people in the Dublin north-inner city area.
Recruitment for general service in the Permanent Defence Force is being kept under review in the light of current strengths and commitments. It is not possible at this stage to say when the next intake of recruits will take place.
Competitions for up to 44 cadetships in the Defence Forces will be advertised in the national newspapers on 25, 28, and 30 May.
Competitions for apprenticeships in the Defence Forces are advertised each year, normally in January-February. A total of 59 apprenticeships will be available this year.
In relation to the recruitment of civilian employees, my Department will continue to work within the restraints set by the Government on recruitment. Casual employees will be recruited for a limited period in 1986, as in previous years.
With a view to the rehousing of families living in old married quarters, my Department has agreed to make the site of the old married quarters at Arbour Hill available to Dublin Corporation, for nominal consideration, for the building of additional houses. All the occupants of these married quarters have now been rehoused and the legal formalities regarding the transfer are almost completed.
In October 1985, the £5,000 grant available to local authority tenants and tenant-purchasers who rehouse themselves in the private sector was extended to the occupants of married soldiers quarters. To date 35 eligible applications have been received from occupants of married quarters in McKee Park and these have been transmitted to the relevant local authority.
42.
asked the Minister for the Public Service the actions or activities which he proposes to undertake within the next 12 months with regard to improving the employment prospects and quality of life generally of people in the Dublin north-inner city area.
While recruitment to the Civil Service is not directed specifically at any particular part of the country the employment prospects of people and especially school leavers in the Dublin north-inner city area are affected by the Civil Service recruitment programme. Recruitment to the Civil Service is carried out by the Civil Service Commissioners who advertise competitions as they arise in the daily national newspapers usually on a Wednesday. The main competitions of interest to school leavers to be held in the next 12 months are for positions as clerical officer and executive officer. One thousand one-year traineeships as temporary clerical trainees will also be offered. Competitions for clerical assistant (typist) and key punch operator were recently advertised and are currently in progress.