Dermot Fitzpatrick (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank my colleagues for sharing their time with me. I agree with the thrust of this motion and it is a timely one before the House. I have seen the effects of massive overdevelopment in my area. I have also seen where development levies paid to local councils are not spent as they should be or are not spent soon enough.

I have seen estates developed around, but unconnected to, what were up to five years ago villages to the north of Dublin city. I was in such a village recently and I saw parents pushing buggies and prams while using the main road to return to their estate, trying to keep their places with traffic. Lorries and cars passed them at speed, with no regard for anyone else on the road. If an estate is built near a village, infrastructure such as footpaths and cycle lanes should be put in place initially along with the water mains, electricity and sewerage. To build an estate and leave it unconnected with its main shopping area is scandalous.

We are discussing management companies as well as development companies. My constituency has seen the highest density in the country of apartment block development. When it first started I was delighted because slums were being cleared. Apartment blocks were built on property that had remained derelict for 30 or 40 years. However, I began to realise that nobody was there at weekends. Where many apartment blocks are built along a street, such as Brunswick Street in my constituency, it is dark at night apart from street lighting. Nobody is there at weekends. They are built for single people or couples. No thought is given to family friendly apartment blocks.

Dublin City Council tells us we need higher densities to accommodate much more people. What type of people are we accommodating? Is there any room for a couple with two or three children? They are built without playgrounds, facilities or crèches. We are taking an extremely narrow view on development. That is the case in my area. I am afraid we are developer-led. One cannot tar them all with the same brush and some developers are good. However, the bottom line for anyone in the business is the financial return. Reading the paper, one sees enormous prices paid per acre for land. When one considers the density required or sought, one realises the profits are way out of line with what we are used to. We are not taking a hard look at what the future holds. I realise I cannot foresee the future. However, I suspect the slums of the future are being built today in certain areas in my constituency.

The finish is another matter not given consideration. The area I represent is mainly red brick. The houses are durable and many of them have been there for more than 100 years. They are capable of being revamped and gutted to bring them up to modern standards. When I was a member of the former Dublin Corporation and these developments took place, the developer always chose a render finish on the outside, perhaps with a small amount of brick. One may think this is a small point but it is not. Cement render does not stand the test of time. It collects dirt from the atmosphere. Developments that went up ten or 15 years ago in my constituency had either render finish or wood finish. Now they leave much to be desired. I speak as someone from Dublin city centre and these are the problems we face. Rural and suburban Ireland have other problems. These are the issues I see arising. We must impress on local authorities that we need higher standards, we must look to the future and there is no point in building rabbit hutches or chicken runs. We are trying to accommodate human beings with a future and families to bring up in a family friendly environment.

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