Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a few questions for Dr. Daly. First, I commend Dr. Daly and the staff in Limerick City and County Council. They have done the best they can in the past year, which has been very difficult for everyone. They have done a really good job. Limerick itself is looking well at the moment. I was there at the weekend. It is buzzing again for the first time in a long time. It is great to see.

I have a few queries on the living city initiative. Obviously, there is a huge Georgian centre in Limerick and a medieval centre around the Nicholas Street area. What could the Government do to make it easier to bring many of those properties back into use? I know Dr. Daly said quite a few properties have been brought back into use. I believe the total is 25. I have seen some of them myself. The quality is excellent and the properties have been finished very well. How do we make it easier for those properties to be brought back into use? As Dr. Daly will be aware, there is a lot of dereliction, particularly in the Georgian area and Nicholas Street. Although many of the properties on Nicholas Street have been addressed, there is a lot more to do there.

My second question concerns Arthur's Quay. Is there any specific plan to do something with Arthur's Quay? We need to reimagine the city in light of the Covid pandemic and the fact we are emerging from it.

On the issue of the Cleeve's site, would the local authority consider putting social and affordable housing on the Cleeve's site? To be honest, I do not see any other potential development for that area.

My final question concerns infrastructure and the very welcome redevelopment of O'Connell Street. Has the council had any significant discussions or does it plan to change the initial development plan? Obviously, the plan was agreed before the Covid-19 pandemic and things have changed during the pandemic. Will there be any changes to the outcome of the redevelopment of O'Connell Street and the surrounding area?