Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The fallout from this is that so much engagement was made by the community on the public side but the entire failure came from the private side. The community was engaged with the local authority in planning, meetings and so on for years upon years. All of that was delivered, but nothing was delivered by the private sector. A closer scrutiny of any public private partnership would be very welcome.

NAMA will be investing at least €1 billion in the Docklands strategic development zone, SDZ. We saw what happened in Canary Wharf in London, which is quite dead after 5 p.m. when the offices close. Is there a social regeneration element to this scheme that would ensure that the local community is not neglected and that the massive investment in office blocks and residential development that is envisaged will be brought to bear on the development? NAMA will be investing about €1 billion, and it is expected that another €1 billion will be invested in it. We are talking about the last chance of regeneration for that area.