This matter relates to a matter with which I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, will be familiar, namely the need to restore Leinster Lawn to its former glory by restoring it to grass and removing the car park.
The Minister will be aware that it was dug up in 2000 and made into a car park. It was probably before his time here but if I am wrong, he can correct me. It was declared at the time to be a temporary measure, and it was the Taoiseach who came into the Dáil and said so. One of the conditions of the planning permission at the time was that it would be restored to grass. It appears we in Leinster House, the OPW or the Government, are in breach of the planning permission because no effort has been made to restore it.
While I do not want to make political points, I suppose this tells us a certain amount about our priorities, namely, that Members and staff of Leinster House should be given precedence over the requirements of the environment and the obvious wishes of the people of Dublin and elsewhere. I have had — as I am sure have other Members — several representations on this issue from people who look in and ask what on earth are we doing with a car park where there was a beautiful lawn. I have always said it will be restored. I have been saying that now for eight years and nothing has happened.
There were plans at the time to build an underground car park. The answer for many years was that the car park was on the way and that car parking on the lawn was temporary. The Minister of State might be able to reassure me that that plan is shelved, is about to be shelved, or is still somewhere in the Estimates of the Department of Finance. My guess is it will never happen.
There are many ways to approach this. One could just do it and tell those who use the car park spaces that they must park elsewhere. One could give quotas to Members. I would be interested to see a list of those entitled to use the car parks in Leinster House. One must be realistic about this. There are ways to restrict it, and not just by starting with staff or Members. Spouses of Members and ex-Members use it regularly. On a sitting day it is chock-a-block.
We must decide on our priorities. Nearly eight years down the line from this temporary arrangement we need a serious commitment from the Minister of State that Leinster Lawn will be restored quickly, and that it is not dependent on some mythical two-storey car park underground that will never be built. This commitment was given to none other than Deputy John Gormley — who is now a Minister and would be interested in this project — in 2005 when he was told the underground car park was about to be built. Nothing has happened three years down the line. Perhaps the Minister of State could give us some comfort. It is imperative, if we make commitments of this sort to the electorate, that we set some sort of an example.
It is also not beyond the realm of possibility that we, ourselves, make some sacrifice. I have a parking space in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food because I have offices there, but I would be prepared to give that up in circumstances where it would have to be shared. Given these times, we must make sacrifices, not just in terms of salaries, perks, etc., but also in terms of the privileges we enjoy as Members of this House, if it is in the public interest. That is not meant to sound pious in any way. It is practical.
I ask the Minister of State to commit to a date and to the price that must be paid to restore to green lawn that beautiful space outside the House.
