Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Ó Broin earlier raised the issue of planning. My father's house, in Knocknaheeny, has a fine big backyard, and many houses that were built 70, 80 or 90 years ago have big front and back gardens. Nowadays, however, especially in the case of city developments, apartments and even some of the regeneration projects in Knocknaheeny, where I come from, there are no front gardens, just a driveway for a car, in some cases only a couple of feet in front of the property. In response, the planning system has favoured higher densities but that has a consequence for open green spaces. Some great work is being done by volunteers and some areas are getting good funding but there is an awful lot of work to be done.

In many areas, especially working-class areas where there is much social housing, people might work shifts and weekends. They do not have their Saturdays off to go and work in a community garden. Moreover, some local authorities, which may be under severe pressure in regard to funding, do not have enough staff to work in parks and recreational areas, to maintain these green areas and community gardens and to get them up to spec. That is a real concern. The areas that have the volunteers and funding will have beautiful green spaces and community gardens, and the areas that do not, which probably need the funding most, will not.