Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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I would like to thank Mr. McCormack and Ms Foreman for coming in and their contributions on this. In my local area, there are two very successful community gardens, in Baldoyle and Bayside. Both of them have transformed the local communities way beyond the people who are involved. It has actually had a transformative effect in terms of people feeling safer in the area, feeling happier, more people getting to know each other and other activities falling out of that. When I think of Bayside as a community and how much it has transformed over the past ten years through that, it is incredible. It has done it through existing green open spaces that were underutilised. It has put in a winter garden and a community orchard. It did not require getting new land or identifying extra land or anything like that, it was in a very settled community where there was not any new land available. It was about using existing spaces in a better way. Interestingly, when it started, there was a bit of reaction because people are used things always being the same way, so not everybody was happy. However, I think at this point there would be massive support in the local community for the work it has done. From that, other things have fallen out of it. For example, the community next to it looks at all of the things Bayside is doing and thinks it would like to have a boules court in our area that gets the local community together.

In Baldoyle, for example, the communal spaces are very good. It has a stage area for performances, a boules court and a barbecue area. The communal areas are very important. In Baldoyle, it was bringing the newer communities together with the existing community and integrating people. It is very useful for people who are living without their own gardens and also just for people who want to form those kind of social bonds. That part of it is very important.

What are the witnesses' views on the legislation on this? I absolutely understand the value of individual plots as well and if they are integrated into some form of communal or shared space, that can work very well. Is there a way, in terms of legislative reform, of putting in the value of the community space or communal parts?