John Bruton
Ceist:4 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the first meeting of the national millennium committee on 19 November 1998; the decisions taken at that meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25431/98]
Ceisteanna—Questions. - Millennium Projects.
Ceist:
5 Dr. Upton asked the Taoiseach the proposals, if any, there are to celebrate the millennium; if he will give details of a proposal to construct a walkway along the Liffey in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25528/98]
Proinsias De Rossa
Ceist:6 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach the position on the Government's proposals to mark the millennium; the number of meetings held to date by the national millennium committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26479/98]
Austin Currie
Ceist:7 Mr. Currie asked the Taoiseach if he will support a proposal for a national millennium project comprising the creation of a Liffey valley national park submitted by the Lucan Planning Council in association with An Taisce and a number of other community organisations in west Dublin and north Kildare (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27727/98]
Joe Higgins
Ceist:8 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Taoiseach if he has received a submission regarding the establishment of the Liffey valley as a national heritage park from Lucan Planning Council as a proposal for a millennium project. [27805/98]
Brendan Daly
Ceist:80 Mr. Daly asked the Taoiseach if the national millennium committee proposes to issue a report on the criteria for the selection of projects and funding for millennium projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27987/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 8, inclusive, and No. 80 together.
The national millennium committee will examine and make recommendations to the Government on proposed millennium projects and on a system for supporting projects at local level to provide an opportunity for local communities, including areas of disadvantage, to participate in the millennium commemoration. The work of the committee is being supported by a small millennium office which has been established within the Department of the Taoiseach. This office will be responsible for the co-ordination of the Government's overall millennium programme.
The Government has made Exchequer funding totalling £30 million available in the years 1999 and 2000 for millennium projects. The Government intends that this fund will act as a lever on other sources of co-funding from the corporate and private sectors.
The committee, of which I am chairperson, has begun its work. The membership of the committee is as follows: Mr. Peter Barry, former Minister; Mr. Lochlann Quinn, chairman, AIB Group; Mr. Howard Kilroy, Governor, Bank of Ireland Group; Ms Eithne Healy, chairman, Dublin Theatre Festival; Ms Deirdre Purcell, journalist-author; Ms Patricia O'Donovan, deputy general secretary, ICTU; Ms Monica McWilliams, Northern Ireland Women's Coalition; Mr. Derek Keogh, chairman, Millennium Festivals Limited; Mr. Brian Murphy, chairman, Office of Public Works; Mr. Paul McGuinness, manager, U2; Mr. Ronan Keating, Boyzone; Mr. Joe Barry, former director-general, RTE; Mr. Paddy Duffy, special adviser to the Taoiseach; Mr. Eoin O'Leary, principal officer, Department of the Taoiseach.
The National Millennium Committee has met on two occasions to date, 19 November and 10 December. A wide range of issues, including millennium themes, the millennium logo and proposed projects and events, was discussed.
Among other matters, the committee has begun the task of examining millennium project proposals received, including the Liffey walkway, which is part of a number of projects proposed by Míle Átha Cliath. A proposal for a Liffey valley national heritage park has also been received.
At the first meeting of the committee, initial criteria for assessing project proposals were adopted. These included the following: projects must be of national importance, although it is planned to develop local projects also; projects must arise distinctly from the millennium; and the objective is to fund projects on a 50-50 basis.
Will the Minister of State make provision for submissions from elected representatives to the committee to allow Members of the Dáil have an input? Will he bear in mind that the villages of Dublin are in need of refurbishment and expenditure and that this would be a suitable project? Would he be amenable to an approach from the Christian churches to mark the birth of Christ in a way that would be in keeping with their wishes and inoffensive to non-Christians?
The Deputy asked three questions. My committee and I would welcome submissions from Dáil Éireann. We might find the opportunity to have a special debate on the commemoration. We do not have a font of wisdom on this matter. There is no precedent for the organisation of millennium events, at least not in this House.
Unless, perhaps, Brian Boru at Clontarf.
We will not get another chance.
I would like to hear the opinions of Members of the House as to how we might proceed. I represent many Dublin villages and I understand their problems. We must be clear that the millennium fund is to be spent on celebrating the millennium. Projects must be millennium specific. The fund cannot be used as a top-up for projects specific to other Departments or which should be undertaken in the normal course by the Government or by local authorities. I am particularly sensitive to the role of Christian churches in the millennium. I would be open to an approach from the churches. I have had a meeting with the special religious liaison group. I asked the churches to put together a liaison group to liaise with the national committee. Its representatives include the Irish Council of Churches, the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, the Jewish community, the Islamic community and other churches. I have had one meeting with them and will meet them again on Thursday, 17 December to discuss how the churches can commemorate the millennium in co-operation with the State.
I note the Minister of State's reference to the national importance of a millennium project. In that context, does he agree the Liffey valley is important, not only to Dublin and north Kildare but to the country generally? It has often been compared to the valley of the Loire. Does the Minister of State welcome the recent setbacks to developers in their attacks on the Liffey valley? I refer particularly to the defeat of the Laraghcon development and to last night's decision by South Dublin County Council to oppose development at St. Edmundsbury. Will the Minister of State join me in congratulating the councillors who voted to preserve the Liffey valley and to attack those, particularly those in his party, who were of the opposite view? Will he bring this project to the attention of the millennium committee? It was supported by the Taoiseach when he was Minister for Finance. Will the Minister of State ensure it gets the support it deserves?
Approximately £400 million worth of projects have already been submitted uninvited from Departments and from various other groups. A number of them, although very fine projects, should be undertaken anyway and cannot be dealt with by the millennium committee because of the extent of its funding and because they are not millennium specific. I agree the Liffey valley project is worthy of consideration and it will receive that consideration. I do not have a comment on the other matter raised by the Deputy.
(Dublin West): Can the Minister of State assure us a committee made up of a group which includes bankers, pop stars and music bosses will not present as the fruits of their labour another spike in, perhaps, Athlone? Why are there no ordinary people on the committee given that projects funded by the committee should be of social benefit?
In answering Question No. 8 concerning the Liffey valley park, will the Minister of State warmly welcome the decision by South Dublin County Council to reject the proposal to rezone extremely sensitive areas on the slopes of the Liffey valley at St. Edmunsbury, Woodville and Fonthill, for exorbitantly priced housing?
Does he agree it is an oasis in the centre of the greater Dublin area and that we are fortunate to have that green belt for a significant part of the valley extending out to Leixlip preserved against repeated attempts by the speculator and the gombeen man to develop it? It could be a major amenity and resource for the people of greater Dublin and the rest of the country. It is crucial that the Government should move to preserve it from further speculative attack. That would open up a green area along the river from Chapelizod to Leixlip to the ordinary people of Dublin and elsewhere in this State and to our visitors. Will the Minister commit the Government to recommending such a project?
Patricia O'Donovan is Deputy General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and tends to be an active and prominent member of the committee. Joe Barry is a former Director General of RTE and Eithne Healy has run the Dublin Theatre Festival. Deirdre Purcell is a fine writer. Those are ordinary people and I reject the notion that they are anything other than that.
(Dublin West): How many director generals are there in the country?
We are delighted to have the advice of someone like Patricia O'Donovan. There is a parallel group made up of senior officials and chaired by the principal officer in the Department of the Taoiseach. It has met regularly and it advises the committee. Its members, like the Deputy and me, are ordinary people.
(Dublin West): What about Liffey Valley Park?
The Deputy had his say.
I am not in a position to comment on Liffey Valley Park. That is a matter for the representatives of the relevant county council.
That matter does not arise now and it is not relevant to the question before us.
It is hardly a millennium issue.
The question is about Liffey Valley Park.
The Deputy should resume his seat.
Will the committee that has been set up be the decision-making body? Is that where the buck will stop? Could the Minister of State be more specific about the type of projects that will be considered? What does millennium specific mean? If he is not more specific, we will be inundated with suggestions and proposals. To avoid putting people to unnecessary expense and then having to disappoint them, the Minister of State should be more specific about the type of projects that will be considered. If we are approached on this matter, that would enable us to pass on the appropriate information. Given the amount of money that is available, perhaps he could let people and groups know, through the media, what type of projects will be entertained, otherwise the £400 million worth of projects submitted will probably be only the beginning.
That is the key question. That is why we are deciding on the approach we will take to this matter. It is not easy to say what precisely we should do, but it is clear what we should not do, and that is half the battle. We want to make sure it is inclusive, that the Christian churches and other churches are involved and that it will look back on the millennium and also look forward. There is much in the past 1,000 years and last century that we should not celebrate. We had world wars, outrageous barbarism and outrageous crimes against humanity. The committee is particularly anxious that we should adopt the correct tone and approach to celebrating the millennium. We should look at the past but we should also seek to generate a sense of excitement about the future. We will invite proposals and assess if they meet the broad criteria of being millennium specific, if such a project would leave a lasting contribution for the next generation, achieve a sense of national ownership by ordinary people, as Deputy Joe Higgins would say, and if it would be inclusive and non-divisive. Our initial view was that leaving monuments was not as important as leaving something more lasting and appropriate.
Like the Liffey Valley park.
This committee and I have no intention of presiding over any domes.
What about the pin in the sky?
I understand that is a Dublin Corporation project and it has not yet come to the committee seeking funding. If it does, we will see if there is any point in funding it.