Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

That is not quite what the Minister told us the last time I tabled a question on this matter. He told me he was agreeable to meet the residents but that they had not taken him up on his offer. He now tells me that officials met representatives of a local primary school and that some time in the future there might be a meeting with the local community. Is it not a fact that the Minister has refused to meet the local residents' association and the local community which is questioning the approach he is taking in regard to many aspects of this development? Will the Minister meet the local community?

What is his response to Dublin City Council when one considers that some months ago, when he brought forward the proposal to close Mountjoy Prison, he had a notice posted on the gate of the prison stating that no official of the city council should be allowed past the portals to conduct any survey of the features of the prison? Will that notice be shredded given that the Office of Public Works made a submission on behalf of the Minister and that Dublin City Council rejected it out of hand, and that it has every intention of examining the architectural, historical, cultural and heritage aspects of the prison with a view to seeing what needs to be preserved? Can I take it the Minister will co-operate with the legal planning authority and the local authority?

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