Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

I agree with the previous speaker's remarks about Mr. Tom Gilmartin, who certainly did this country some service with his actions.

I want to join my colleagues in the Labour Party and elsewhere in welcoming the publication of the Mahon report. It is unfortunate that it took so long to complete its work, but the importance of the report cannot be ignored or understated. I will take a particular angle in my contribution. I represent Clondalkin, Lucan and Palmerstown, the area most adversely affected by the Dublin County Council decisions detailed in the Mahon report. Our proposed town centre was stolen from us and it can never be replaced. The damage done there will last and will be a monument to those bad decisions. Indeed, I was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1991 local elections in Clondalkin, an election which is referred to often in the Mahon report. I campaigned in favour of developing the original town site. For my efforts I can remember on one occasion being laughed at by Frank Dunlop. It is difficult to describe the atmosphere of the time but there was an absolute attempt to whip up as much community support as possible for the proposal to move the town centre from Ronanstown to Quarryvale. Every effort was made. At the time people were desperate for jobs because we were coming out of the 1980s. That helped the developers to get their way.

I emphasise that this is not a victimless crime. Perhaps it cannot be seen by others but I have before me a map of the area that was meant to be the town centre for Lucan and Clondalkin. It is still made up of green fields. The railway station for Clondalkin is in the middle of this area, the one area of Clondalkin and Lucan where there is no housing. This is a concrete example of the effects of the decisions. Had the town centre gone ahead in the original designated area, the railway station would be viable and there would be a viable centre there now, one accessible to people from Clondalkin and Lucan. That is not the position and it is a disgrace because when people moved to the Clondalkin and Lucan areas in the late 1970s and early 1980s, they had a reasonable expectation that the area would develop. The town centre area was moved to the extreme north-east corner of the Lucan-Clondalkin area. Therefore, it is not a town centre for either Lucan or Clondalkin. We are left with the current situation.

Earlier, I referred to the lonely train station in the one unpopulated area of the Clondalkin-Lucan conurbation. There are many other knock-on effects. Recently, Clondalkin lost the Permanent TSB bank to Liffey Valley. There are numerous similar small impacts. As it stands, the Liffey Valley centre is a commercial threat to the surrounding places of Clondalkin, Lucan and Palmerstown. As we speak there is a planning application from Tesco to build a large supermarket on that site. We must work out whether it should go ahead and what impact it will have on the immediate area.

I emphasise the point because most of the media attention on this issue has focused on the corruption. While it is proper that there is a focus on this, there has not been sufficient focus on the fact that those decisions have practical implications. They have had negative practical implications on the area I represent and other areas throughout Dublin. I urge the media to focus on this aspect of the problem as well. People have been badly served by these decisions. It must be understood that there are practical implications.

This betrayal was perpetrated overwhelmingly by Fianna Fáil representatives as well as some Fine Gael representatives on our council. Unfortunately, one Labour Party person was involved as well. We recognise this and the individual councillor was expelled from the Labour Party in 1993. We did not have to wait for the various tribunals and the Mahon report. I was not a member of Dublin County Council at the time but I am proud of the Labour Party members and some of the honourable members from other groups and parties who refused to yield to the temptation of seeking money for their votes. The people who stood out against this have never received the credit they deserved. Often, they were under considerable pressure.

I refer to some of the corrupt decisions themselves. The tactics used by those involved would not have been out of place on the script of "The Sopranos". I regret to note that even Sinn Féin got involved locally in efforts to whip up support for the rezoning because the area involved happened to be near the area of that party's greatest electoral support.

There are some good suggestions among the recommendations of the Mahon report. However, overall they are far too legalistic and not broad enough. The Kenny report has been adverted to. One of the key measures of that report which would help to prevent corruption is if the price of building land were regulated. The proposal in the report was that it should be set at the cost of farm land plus 25%. Such mechanisms would help to wipe out pernicious motivation to a great extent.

Other measures must be considered as well, although I do not allege any corruption in this regard. Let us consider the development levies which were valuable to councils before the Celtic tiger collapsed. One problem with these was the temptation on the part of council staff to go for the maximum development possible because it would yield the greatest levy. That is not a good way for decisions to be made. This aspect of the report should be considered. Another issue that must be considered as a result of the Mahon tribunal is the organisation of local government. I am somewhat fearful of the proposals, some of which may emasculate local government further. It is important to try to give local government sufficient power and the independent resources to operate. It is important that we draw a line under corruption and develop a total intolerance of it.

One problem with Ireland is that we do not sufficiently see the State as being made up of ourselves. Therefore, we do not sufficiently recognise an attack on the State as an attack on the people who live in the State. We would do well to adapt the slogan of the French monarch, Louis XIV, who said: "L'État, c'est moi". We should adapt this to say: "L'État, c'est nous". If we adopted this approach we would have a different way of seeing things. It would help to develop a greater public ethic in the country.

I agree with the remarks Deputy Ó Caoláin made on the Garda and the need to explain why some of these complaints were not followed up. There is a pressing need for justice to be done. We cannot undo the corrupt actions of others but it is important that we rebuild confidence in the political system. We must seek justice on all fronts in the way we follow up this report.

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