Pádraig O'Sullivan
Ceist:1. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cork city task force will be established. [1680/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 18 February 2025
Ceisteanna (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
Séamus McGrath
Ceist:2. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Taoiseach when the Cork city task force will be established. [2221/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Paul McAuliffe
Ceist:3. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the implementation of the Dublin city task force recommendations through his Department. [4432/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraPaul McAuliffe
Ceist:4. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Taoiseach if he will report on plans to apply the Dublin city task force model to other cities, towns and regions in need of revitalisation. [4433/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra
James Geoghegan
Ceist:5. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Taoiseach when he expects the interdepartmental group on the Dublin city task force report to submit its report to the Government. [4439/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraJames Geoghegan
Ceist:6. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Taoiseach when he expects the interdepartmental group on the Dublin city task force report to submit its report to the Government. [4799/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Ivana Bacik
Ceist:7. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach to report on his plans for new city task forces, and on when the interdepartmental group on the Dublin city task force report will submit its report. [5752/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:8. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the implementation of the Dublin city task force recommendations through his Department. [6073/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Paul Murphy
Ceist:9. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on plans to implement the Dublin city task force recommendations. [6089/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (12 píosaí cainte)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 9, inclusive, together.
Proposals are currently being developed regarding the establishment of a task force for Cork city centre. Once they are finalised, the proposals will be submitted to the Government for its consideration. In essence, the role of the task force will be to examine and develop a strategy for the renewal and refurbishment of the city centre of Cork and issues related to the city centre. We hope to come back to Deputies in respect of that.
With regard to the Dublin city centre task force, the goal is to make Dublin city centre a more thriving, attractive and safe cityscape, as well as a desirable location to live, work, do business and visit. To deliver on these missions, the task force identified ten big moves it recommends should be addressed. As agreed by the Government, the Department of An Taoiseach convened an interdepartmental group to examine the task force recommendations. The interdepartmental group is currently preparing a report for consideration by the Government in the coming weeks. Following this, we will come back to the House with those specifics.
With the Ceann Comhairle's permission, I wish to acknowledge the passing of former Minister of State and a colleague of the Taoiseach for a number of years, Danny Wallace. The Taoiseach wrote a piece in a local newspaper yesterday in which he remembered Danny fondly. I first met Danny many years ago, but I really got to know him during the 2019 by-election in Cork North-Central. During the 2020 general election campaign, I was struck by how many people would approach him, by how affable he was with people, and by how highly he was held in their regard.
It really struck me how inherently decent he was. I mark his passing. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
We all have wish lists of things that we would like to see in our constituencies, particularly with regard to infrastructure. I hope the newly established Cork task force will be able to deliver for the people of Cork. I often listen to the Taoiseach and he says that we need to deliver things quite regularly but if I look across my side of the city, I can see it is beset with planning difficulties, for example relating to two of our three primary care centres. We would like to see an elective hospital delivered in Glanmire as quickly as possible. Former Minister of State Danny Wallace would have mentioned the north ring road in this House on many occasions over the years but 25 years on, no progress has been made. I emphasise that all of these projects would, hopefully, feed into regenerating and rejuvenating the city we love so well. Above all else, I ask the Taoiseach to consider including political representation on the task force. I believe this is crucial to ensuring we can drive and deliver for the people of Cork.
I join my colleague in passing on my condolences to the family of Dan Wallace. As somebody entering politics in Cork, Dan was very much a prominent politician in the area, a person of great integrity and a genuine public servant with the best interests of his constituents at heart at all times. I pass on my condolences to his wife Ethel and family.
I very much welcome the Taoiseach's comments on the task force today and the inclusion of the task force in the programme for Government. Cork is a wonderful city with wonderful features and, of course, wonderful people but like all urban areas, it requires investment, rejuvenation and a continued focus. This is something I sincerely hope the task force will do. It will work closely with Cork City Council, which will have a critical role to play. I know it has already been making moves in this regard. The issues of dereliction, vacancy and underutilisation of buildings are critically important. Hopefully, we can align with our aims in terms of improving housing supply when it comes to housing over shops. The underutilisation of buildings in the city centre is a blight in Cork and the task force needs to deal with this. Transport, connectivity to the city centre, improved local bus services and the light rail system progressing are critically important. One issue that is close to my heart is the lack of a shuttle service between the city centre and Cork Airport. This is something that needs to be delivered as part of this task force. Regarding safety in the city, I listened to other Deputies earlier talk about Garda presence. This is something that came up strongly during the general election. People, unfortunately, do not feel safe in the city centre. The lack of a visible Garda presence and the lack of a proactive policing management plan for the city are issues I hope the task force can deal with. The events centre is something we want to see progressed. I know the Taoiseach shares that view.
The events on South Anne Street late on Saturday night were some of the worst and most shocking scenes we have seen in our city since the Dublin riots. As the Taoiseach said, we are all thinking of the family of the victim and of the victims who were subjected to the violent attacks that took place in Stoneybatter. The pretext for the Dublin city centre task force established by the Tánaiste was safety in our city. It was a recognition and a reflection that increased numbers of gardaí in our city centre alone will not be enough to improve the outlook of our city and make Dublin the city we all know it can be. There was a lot of discussion here about the lack of Garda resources and the lack of gardaí in the city centre. There has been an increase in Garda patrols. We need to commend the responsiveness of An Garda Síochána, particularly in the way it carried out the investigation into the incident on Saturday night and its speedy response to the significant danger it faced in Stoneybatter. However, we need this task force to be up and running and the recommendations need to be implemented. The only way those recommendations can be implemented is if they are matched by funding. I very much welcome that it is coming to the Government in the next few weeks and I sincerely hope it will include funding commitments.
I spoke earlier about the awful incidents of knife crime, particularly on South Anne Street, and expressed my sympathies to the family of Quham Babatunde. I do so again, as I do to all those victims of South Anne Street and Stoneybatter. Clearly we need to see the positive aspects in the report of the Dublin city centre task force implemented, particularly where the report called for 1,000 extra gardaí. We need a commitment from the Government that recruitment will be ramped up within An Garda Síochána. We need to see conditions, particularly for trainee gardaí, made more attractive so that we will see more gardaí brought on. This is a crucial issue.
In terms of improving the quality of life in the city centre, we saw an announcement today of a new development in Boland's Mills in Barrow Street. This is a discounted rental scheme for key workers that is very welcome. It is a collaboration between Google and Clúid Housing. Again, it is very welcome but why is it that a private company is stepping up to do this? Why are we not seeing more of this sort of positive development for housing in the city centre within the canals and in the Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 area coming from the State?
I endorse the questions that others put to the Taoiseach about including local elected representatives on the Cork city task force and seeing more commitment on the Cork events centre. Our councillor Peter Horgan in Cork has fought for years for transparency with regard to this project.
If take Moore Street as an emblem and an example of the interest of the State and successive governments in the regeneration of Dublin's north inner city, I can tell the House that it tells a very depressing tale. It tells a tale not just of indifference to those families and communities in the here and now, but also of utter and gross disrespect for the history and the historic nature of the Moore Street quarter. I very much welcome the fact that the GPO will be put to good use and that a cultural hub and quarter will be developed around it. This should extend to Moore Street and the lanes of history. Do I hold out much hope of this Government actually investing in that? Quite frankly, no.
I welcome the proposal for 1,000 extra gardaí. I would be very curious to know the timeline for that, the funding that will be put aside for it and, as Deputy Bacik has said, the recruitment plan for that.
A significant portion of the entire transient and homeless population of the State is resident in Dublin 1. It is a quilt of hostels and emergency services for some of the most broken citizens in our State. It has become a dumping ground. I am loath to use this term because we are all human beings and worthy of respect and support, but I want to register in the clearest possible terms the feelings of the inner city communities that they have been left behind and put upon. For those reasons, this strategy had better work.
The Dublin city centre task force recommends improving public transport by implementing the city centre transport plan. How on earth does the Taoiseach think this is compatible with outsourcing more and more routes to private companies like Go-Ahead Ireland, which has been a disaster for commuters? Workers and students in Tallaght, Knocklyon and Rathfarnham have had their lives turned upside down by the number of no-show buses and ghost buses run by Go-Ahead Ireland. The S6, S8 and S4, all of which are run by Go-Ahead Ireland, are totally unreliable. I have talked to countless people over the past couple of weeks who said they have had to get taxis multiple times to work and can no longer take public transport to work because they do not know whether it will arrive on time. They are waiting on a bus and it does not show for a couple of hours because various buses simply do not appear. Yet Go-Ahead Ireland has been rewarded by winning another contract - the so-called ODMA, which is a series of different routes worth €50 million. The bottom line issue is that Go-Ahead Ireland cannot recruit the mechanics to fix the buses because it makes profits by paying the mechanics less than Dublin Bus pays them. Privatisation is a disaster for workers, commuters and our environment. Will the Taoiseach instruct the NTA to return the bus routes to Dublin Bus?
In the context of the Dublin city centre task force, I wish to ask the Taoiseach about motorbike theft. A total of 787 motorbikes were stolen in Dublin in 2023 - a 100% increase on the previous year. This means that for every 100 motorbikes bought, 44 were stolen. It is completely out of control. Will the Government follow the example of London, which launched Operation Venice and introduced a range of measures to clamp down on moped theft? Within a year, moped theft had fallen by 36% and moped-enabled crime had fallen by 47% across London. Will we follow the example of London and take action on this?
We all know about issues like violent crime, organised crime or chaotic crime. We know about the estate management failures that exist. We all deal at times with the Garda, Tusla, the council and intervention services, which have insufficient tools to deal with the cases in front of them. The Drogheda implementation board did good work but could not deal with the issues in front of it. We will wait to see what comes from the community safety forums. I want to deal specifically with one issue that is constantly in front of the Garda, that is, mental health. I will not give specifics, but I know of people who have been arrested multiple times under the Mental Health Act and have not been committed. The Garda is the only body dealing with such people, and that is insufficient and a failure to everyone.
On the development of Dublin, we learned today that the builders of the national children's hospital require an additional €800 million of taxpayers' money. We also learned that there will be a further delay until this time next year. The Department of Health has stated that the delay is due to the fact that it is difficult to bring children from hospital to hospital in the winter. I find it hard to believe that we are delaying construction again for that reason. Will the Taoiseach publish the clinical advice pertaining to this advice?
Before the Taoiseach starts his reply, I welcome our new Senators who are on a tour of the House. I congratulate them and hope they enjoy proceedings. Seeing as the Taoiseach has so many questions to answer, I will be lenient and allow him six minutes to reply.
I wish to be associated with the comments of Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan in respect of the late Dan Wallace. He was a good friend of mine, a Member of this House for over 25 years and a Minister of State. He was a very decent man and a fierce advocate for the people of the north side of Cork. In some respects, I learned the nuts and bolts of electoral politics as a student with Dan Wallace on the north side of Cork, when we canvassed in Gurranabraher, Blackpool and Farranree. He personified the indomitable spirit that characterises the people of the north side of Cork. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. I hope we will have an opportunity at a later date to pay sincere tribute to him.
Deputies O'Sullivan and Séamus McGrath raised the Cork task force. I acknowledge the list of issues that Deputy O'Sullivan raised, including the health facilities and the northern ring road. There is also the issue of the elective hospital, which the Deputy did not raise but has campaigned strongly for. I hope we can get that activated. Deputy McGrath was correct in saying there is underutilisation of buildings in Cork city. In the transportation area, light rail is coming to the city centre. The transformation of Kent Station is a great platform, excuse the pun, to energise the city centre. It will lead, we hope, to a new active travel bridge across the river, which would link to the light rail system. There are great opportunities there. I met representatives of Iarnród Éireann recently in respect of that. We will also be meeting representatives of the NTA.
Safety in the cities of Cork and Dublin, as Deputy Geoghegan said, is, in some respects, the context for much of the work of the task force. We need to reimagine our cities. They are going to be different spaces in the future. I am not sure we will have the big anchor tenants of yesteryear in our cities. Our city centres will become more residential, sharing space with retail, hospitality and other forms of activity. There is a bit of work to be done yet in terms of planning and the contexts that govern developments within our city centres. The safety issue is core. Architecturally, how we design cities and streets has an impact on human behaviour and can also have an impact on safety issues. Very often, stronger residential content or density brings the prospect of self-policing, if you like, or community-based deterrents and so on. We need to examine and explore that issue more deeply than we have done to date.
Garda resources will increase. The Covid-19 pandemic, and the closure of the Garda College in Templemore, stopped a lot of recruitment. It has now been reactivated. Measures have been taken, including an increase in the training allowance and an increase to the age for retirement. We hope we will have better retention. We have more work to do on that front.
The events centre in Cork is going out to tender. It will take time for that to come back in, given the level of investment that is proposed.
No one is more exasperated than me about Moore Street. We had previous agreements that Deputies backed away from. Oireachtas committees met on the issue and thought they had agreement with all parties but that did not turn out to be the case. The GPO is a good example of what can happen in a positive way. I visited the outpatients department of the Coombe hospital, which opened recently and is a good example of how we can bring life back into the city centre. It provides an excellent service for women and there is a good footfall of workers on the street who are availing of the service. It is a top-class facility. We must look for more services of that kind that we can reintroduce to the city centre.
We are expanding public service transport. We are increasing the numbers recruited to Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann. They have had difficulty recruiting. We had to cancel services in Cork city because of the inability to recruit bus drivers as a result of the growth and expansion of our full economy. Let us be clear that the Government has presided over an expansion of public transport services, both rail and bus, with additionality in terms of the numbers of passengers and so on. We will continue to do that.
We would be open to examining the London experience, which was raised by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan.
Deputy Ó Murchú raised the issues of estate management and mental health. His was valid commentary. We must be careful how we say this, but sometimes many issues have underlying causes that do not amount to criminality when we consider the person's mindset or state of health. There are issues there to which we need to attend. Gardaí can be the people who engage in the first instance. It can sometimes be difficult to analyse issues around crime because of the shocking nature of it and the immediacy of the commentary. I know of cases where there was no violence, attempted violence or an engagement where we would find there was a background issue. We must work on mental health, addiction, alcohol use and drug use, which is growing exponentially, in our society. All of that is having a negative impact on behaviour and is leading to violence, particularly late at night and early in the morning. There is no point in saying otherwise. Any parent of young people knows the fear when they go out. There is always concern and worry. We must work hard.
On the children's hospital, the developer, BAM in this case, has submitted claims. There is a process for dealing with those claims. They are robustly contested by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, and will continue to be. Our objective is to complete the process with proper procedures and systems applying before we get a first-class hospital for the children of the nation.