Mr. Charlie Murphy:

I have been a member of the council since 1997 and have been on the board representing the port and community - both sides - at various stages of the project. One of the things that worked very well in the docklands development was the social regeneration package, which resulted in community gain. It fast-tracked the emphasis on planning and getting things moving very sensibly and quickly within the docklands.

The master plan is still in place. I have not tried to delve into the question of powers, but I cannot ascertain what real powers the committee will have as a sub-committee of Dublin City Council; it may have no powers at all. It may be that we will just talk, on foot of which some advice may be taken on board. I am not too sure. To me, it has no powers as it stands. However, the docklands council had power in that it passed and agreed a master plan for how the whole area would grow.

The other problem I have with the committee in question is that its term does not seem to be defined. It is not stated that I should serve for five years or ten years. I could be a member for the rest of my life, for all I know. Since the master plan represents a good concept, why not keep it in place? Why not have a master plan for the area that could be endorsed by the committee and reviewed every five years? This would allow for renewal of the committee every five years. Continuity could be ensured by having some members stay on, while others would step down.

The master plan was a good concept and worked well for the area, especially in the area of social regeneration. We were told at the very beginning that businesses would not move into the area if we were too prescriptive in imposing levies on businesses. We could not stop people from moving in; people wanted to develop. While developers have a bad name at present, the point is that the developer-driven economy grew the local economy at the time. However, we need to examine a new concept for developers coming in and whether there is a development levy that will assist in the development of the social infrastructure. The committee should have power regarding the master plan and its enforcement over the five-year period. Since the master plan concept is in place, let us keep it.