Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to conclude the debate on the Labour Party Private Members' motion on the collapse of the five public private partnerships between Dublin City Council and Michael McNamara and Company. I thank all the Deputies who spoke. A total of 20 Deputies from all sides of the House contributed to the debate over the past three hours or so last night and tonight.

I will single out a few of them. Deputies Upton and Byrne spoke eloquently about the devastation in St. Michael's Estate. Deputy Shortall spoke equally eloquently about the destruction of Finglas village by Bernard McNamara in the context of what he has done to a sixth-century village that has now been ruined by the manner in which he has handled it and by neglect. My colleague and party leader, Deputy Gilmore, came out to O'Devaney Gardens and Dominick Street, met the residents and assisted us in every way with the motion. My constituency colleague, Deputy Gregory, made a very special effort to be here tonight to make his contribution. I compliment them and all of the Deputies who contributed during the two days. It is very heartening to see the concern expressed at the plight of so many hundreds of residents who have been affected so drastically by the collapse of these regeneration projects.

Most of all, I salute the residents from the three major projects, namely, O'Devaney Gardens, Dominick Street Lower and St. Michael's Estate who worked so closely and co-operated in full with Dublin City Council and the developer over a number of years in planning new homes and new communities for themselves and their children. Many of them attended the debate last night and are here tonight in the Gallery.

We must not allow their efforts and vision of a better future for themselves and their children to be dashed. This is why the Labour Party decided to table this motion in the form it did. It is a Private Members' motion that is non-partisan and non-controversial. It does not seek to attach blame to any political party or particular group but to explore a way forward out of the current quagmire as expeditiously as possible.

We do not want the summer to fade into the autumn and the autumn to fade into the winter with recriminations and litigation clouding the horizon and frustrating the residents. We want the Government to put the people of O'Devaney Gardens, Dominick Street Lower and St. Michael's Estate before any other consideration. If Michael McNamara and Company is not committed to these public private partnership agreements, it should vacate the pitch immediately and allow the regeneration process to continue unimpeded.

The Government must now amend the procurement procedure for public private partnerships to ensure no State authority puts all its eggs in the one basket in the future, as happened with these projects. Moreover, strict deadlines and penalties should be mandatory.

I am pleased the Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Michael Finneran, accepted our proposal last night to meet the residents of O'Devaney Gardens and St. Michael's Estate to see for himself the atrocious conditions in these estates in which men, women and children live. I note that he has already visited Lower Dominick Street.

I am also heartened that Dublin City Council has now effectively removed the developer from the St. Michael's Estate and Lower Dominick Street projects where no contract had been signed and that in the case of Infirmary Road where a contract has been signed, a hefty financial penalty clause is about to kick in. This leaves O'Devaney Gardens as the outstanding project involving large numbers of residents — 186 tenants currently on site — which is bogged down in talks of mediation and reconciliation and where some of the negotiating principals are already on their holidays.

Meanwhile, the economic recession deepens so time is of the essence. It is essential that O'Devaney Gardens be freed from the tentacles of the present public private partnership quagmire and be free like St. Michael's Estate and Dominick Street Lower to embark on a new initiative as quickly as possible before the hundreds of residents and their families lose all faith in the regeneration process. I can assure the Minister that this faith is dwindling very fast. After the debate last night, I was called up to O'Devaney Gardens around midnight where a man was threatening to jump off a roof because of stress and frustration over the debacle in which he found himself in respect of the O'Devaney Gardens project. Thankfully, that situation was defused for the time being but the stresses and strains are enormous in all of these areas, including St. Michael's Estate, Dominick Street and O'Devaney Gardens.

The Government should agree tonight to take direct responsibility for funding and delivering the three outstanding regeneration projects and should set the wheels in motion immediately. I regret the Government's decision to table an amendment opposing our motion. Even at this late stage, I urge it to withdraw the amendment and accept our motion in the all-party spirit in which it was tabled.

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