Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also acknowledge the Taoiseach's personal engagement, and particularly the occasions when he arrived in the north inner city and was not accompanied by the media. However, the report was launched on 16 February in the Sheriff Hall. Three months have elapsed in the meantime and we have to ask what we have seen in that time? We know that it is not only the current Government which is to blame; it is successive Governments and their indifference and neglect, not to mention the austerity budgets and their adverse effects. It is also fair to state that without the murders, violence and resulting headlines, we would not have had a Mulvey report and the indifference and neglect would have continued. There are glaring absences in the report, particularly with regard to housing, drugs, new communities and mental health issues. The North Inner City Community Coalition has produced its own report and there is a need to look at both and see how they might merge together. I am asking three things: first, when will the chairperson be announced? The second, which I have already brought to the Taoiseach's attention, is the need for community representation at all levels, not just one member on the highest level of the implementation team and we need to see the implementation structures at all levels. Money is welcome but we all made the point at the outset that there was no point in throwing money at the area in the short term but must consider long-term solutions. This is not merely about the north inner city, because drugs and violence are not common there. This is a question of national relevance and if we get it right in the north inner city, it can be rolled out elsewhere.

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