Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I take it that this will be sold, because the SDZ allows for the development of the site. It seems that Waterways Ireland wants to spend the money in other parts of the network and does not care about the central core of the Georgian network in the centre of Dublin. Why will the Minister not intervene at this stage, rather than in the planning process? Why does she not listen to her representatives from the area who believe this is a terrible mistake and that we are losing value for a key piece of Georgian architecture? We are going back to the mistakes made in the 1960s and 1970s. The Minister has the ability, the power and the motive to have this Georgian architecture preserved rather than sold. If this is decided in the North, on account of the fact that Waterways Ireland is a North-South body, the Minister should go to the next meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council and tell them it is of strategic interest to the city of Dublin and we should not sell it. Why is she letting it proceed to sale when Fine Gael Deputies for the area are of a like mind to me in believing that this makes no sense. This is throwing away Dublin heritage and waterways heritage, and for what purpose?

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