Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did not need to wear a hat to get my surname said correctly. I thank the Chair.

I thank the Minister of State for this legislation and for all the work he has done. I will come back to that in a moment but first, I particularly welcome the guests in the Gallery today. I begin by welcoming Lord Iveagh, Ned, and also the friends of the Iveagh Markets: David Delaney; Noel Fleming of Noel's Deli fame on Meath Street, which is really good for jammy dodgers as well as ice cream; James Madigan, Kim Olin and Kieran Doyle O'Brien; and also my own husband David Kearney, who was christened in the Church of St. Nicholas of Myra on Francis Street and whose family hail from Francis Street and had a stall in the market.

I begin by briefly alluding to the cromlech in Chapelizod. I thank the Minister of State for the forward and backward engagement we have had for at least the last 18 months on that. At that time, I was representing the requirements of Peter Kavanagh and the Chapelizod Heritage Society who asked for fencing to protect the cromlech. There is fencing around it today but we could not put it up until letters were written and a discussion was had as to the impact fencing would have. Now there is fencing up around it but the fencing is there is to protect the cromlech after it had been damaged. We exchanged late-night texts on a Friday night and to be fair, the response was extraordinary from the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. I am very grateful for his accessibility on that. However, it was after the fact that we moved to protect a monument and proof of ancient living in Chapelizod which the people of Ireland deserved to see preserved. It is with that in mind, and the experience of that situation in mind, that I want to particularly address the Iveagh Markets. I note the extraordinary intervention and grace of the Guinness family and the first Earl of Iveagh to grant Dublin and to the people of the Liberties, St. Patrick's Park and in the Iveagh Trust and all of the housing that is there. I am from a brewery family so all of my family worked in Guinness's. We knew people who lived in Iveagh Gardens. There was an extraordinary investment into the people of Dublin. As part of that, because of the markets that were there, the Earl of Iveagh built the Iveagh Markets as a gift to the people in the Liberties to have their market and to continue their market under the stewardship of Dublin Corporation. It should have remained thus. It has been over 30 years now without any activity in it. Dublin City Council or Dublin Corporation in their wisdom, allowed an arrangement of tendering for a 500 year lease, to a potential developer who did nothing except to criminally undermine the structure of that facility. There are elements of it that are inexplicably gone. There are trenches in it that completely undermine it, and it is just about standing there. It is extraordinary that it has survived the winter, and thankfully it has. However, I do not know how many more winters it will cover. I know that there are actions going on, but my fear is we are going to get caught up now in a report and another report and another report. In the meantime, until the day comes that it has collapsed all together, then there will be a lot of hand wringing and wailing about what is lost. The people of the Liberties deserve their market. I have been to the market in Barcelona. We have the English market in Cork. Other the markets are preserved. They are beautifully living, breathing spaces for the community in which they are situated, for the city and country in which they find themselves. The heritage and history of that is preserved and held and it is a living space. There is no reason why the Iveagh Markets could not be exactly the same in what is an extraordinary part of our city. The Liberties stands for everything that embodies the spirit us Dubliners, it really does. It is an absolute disgrace that it is standing there so neglected and I am very grateful to Lord Iveagh for the moves that he took to stimulate a final response in all of this two years ago by taking control and reminding Dublin Corporation and its successor in Dublin City Council, that there is a covenant there. The market is for the people of Dublin, under their stewardship. What are they doing? What have they done? I am mindful of litigation and all of the rest that is going on but I will not address that. The fact is that they, as local authorities, are the front line guardians of our heritage in the area over which they preside. They have presided over a disgrace since that market closed its doors. It is an absolute disgrace. To walk around it is the stuff of tears. There have been reports on it that is currently unsafe. I am very grateful to Mr. Guinness who brought many of us public representatives around around the market. He was very good and he did no oblige us to wear hard hats. We probably were lucky.

I note the extraordinary intervention and grace of the Guinness family and the first Earl of Iveagh to grant Dublin and the people of the Liberties, St. Patrick's Park and the Iveagh Trust and all of the housing that is there. I am from a brewery family. All of my family worked in Guinness's. We knew people who lived in Iveagh Gardens. There was an extraordinary investment in the people of Dublin. As part of that, because of the markets that were there, the Earl of Iveagh built the market as a gift to the people in the Liberties to have their market and to continue it under the stewardship of Dublin Corporation. It should have remained thus.

It has been over 30 years now without any activity in it. Dublin City Council or Dublin Corporation in their wisdom, allowed an arrangement of tendering for a 500-year lease to a potential developer who did nothing except to criminally undermine the structure of the facility. There are elements of it that are inexplicably gone. There are trenches in it that completely undermine it and it is just about standing. It is extraordinary that it has survived the winter. Thankfully it has but I do not know how many more winters it will withstand.

I know that there are actions going on but my fear is that we will get caught up in endless reports until the day comes that it collapses and then there will be much hand wringing and wailing about what has been lost. The people of the Liberties deserve their market. Other markets are preserved. That is what would happen in any other city. Barcelona is a fine example of this. We have the example of the English Market in Cork. They are beautifully living, breathing spaces for their communities, cities and countries. The heritage and history is preserved and held in a living space.

There is no reason the Iveagh Markets could not be exactly the same. It is an extraordinary part of our city. The Liberties stands for everything that embodies the spirit of us Dubliners, it really does. It is an absolute disgrace that it is standing there so neglected. I am very grateful to Lord Iveagh for the moves that he made to stimulate a final response in all of this two years ago in taking control and reminding Dublin Corporation and its successor, Dublin City Council, that there is a covenant there. That is for the people of Dublin under their stewardship. So what are they doing? What have they done?

I am mindful of litigation and all of the rest that is going on and I will not address that. The fact is that they, as local authorities, are the front line guardians of our heritage in the area over which they preside. They have presided over a disgrace since that market closed its doors. It is an absolute disgrace. To walk around it is the stuff of tears. There have been reports carried out which state that the building is currently unsafe.

I am very grateful to Mr. Guinness who brought many of us public representatives around the market. He was very good, not obliging us to wear hard hats. We were probably lucky. The building is in an advanced state of dereliction. It does not take an awful lot of imagination to picture what could be and we have a really good example. The Friends of the Iveagh Markets have brought me through the experience of Kilmainham Mill where there was engagement with the local community. Where are we at with that project? We are at a very advanced stage of an extraordinary preservation of heritage, of the story of a community, the story of generations. That is what we need in the Iveagh Markets.

I know the Minister of State has visited and done work and engaged with the issue. I implore the Minister of State either under this Bill, or in some other way, to oblige urgent action. It is not okay for Dublin City Council to commission a report that will take forever. In the meantime the building will be gone and a piece of Dublin and a piece of Ireland will be gone that we do not deserve to lose. It cannot be only in the mind's eye. Among those in the Gallery are people who conduct guided tours of the Liberties and capture the most extraordinary history of our State. One cannot move an inch in the place without feeling the history of the people. Visitors, the local community and the Irish people need to be able to proudly walk into the Iveagh Markets. That is the legacy of the Guinness family and their investment in employment and housing, and in everything they have done for the city of Dublin. That is the legacy. We as a people when it was gifted to us, we who preside over the governance of our State, have an obligation to respond to that wholeheartedly in everything that is encapsulated in this Bill.