Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests from the CCMA for appearing before the committee. I am particularly glad to see Mr. Shakespeare from my area in Dublin City Council here. I pay tribute to the council officials on the ground, particularly for the enormous efforts they made when the pandemic kicked off last year. It was an incredible response and it has continued in the months since. I acknowledge the enormous effort that was made and the challenging circumstances in which officials had to work.

The appointment of an office of city recovery is an important development. Every local authority should have such an office. It should not be confined to a small number of local authorities.

It is an important development that should be in every local authority, not just confined to a number of them. I am delighted to see Cóilín O'Reilly in that role. I have disagreed with some of his recent comments but it is good to see him in the role.

I have a question for Mr. Shakespeare about the planning taking place at the moment regarding certain parts of the city and the concerns about footfall, certain multinationals not renewing leases on buildings and the knock-on effect that is playing out, which will play out further if more people are working from home and there is not demand for local coffee shops, shops and whatever else. What planning is taking place in Dublin City Council with regard to the IFSC and the Docklands to prepare for a change in how people are working and will work in the future?