Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that the appointment of Michael Stone to chair and to lead the implementation board is very welcome. I have met with Mr. Stone and have formed the view that he is very much in the business of getting things done, which he will have to be.

Notwithstanding the work done by Kieran Mulvey, which I also acknowledge, the report essentially amounts to a listing of a number of initiatives that were already in place and a restatement of moneys that were already promised. While it has some nuggets of truth and there are some interesting parts interlaced in it, I would be misleading the House if I said we are anything other than disappointed and underwhelmed by what has been produced. Given the scale of what needs to be done here, and in light of the depth of the change and radical innovation that is required, tinkering on the edges will not get us very far. I would always be the first to welcome and argue in favour of the provision of small amounts of additional money for local projects, many of which are crying out for funding and resources. The idea that throwing a few bob here and there will sort things or fundamentally change things in this community is just wrong. The community is well aware of that. The collaborative and cross-political party work that has been done by the North Inner City Community Coalition forms the basis of the type of analysis, blueprint and vision that is required to move things along.

I would like to highlight something that the Taoiseach mentioned in his reply. I have spoken to Michael Stone about this. It is an example of how the old thinking still dominates. It is a mistake to bunch crime and drugs together. I do not suggest that there is no relationship between drugs and crime, because it is clear that there is such a relationship. Those who seek to pretend that a criminal justice response will sort out the ravages of drugs in this and other communities - something which is just not true - are missing the essential social dynamic around drug abuse, misuse and addiction. I thought we had reached a position of political understanding and consensus that this approach is wrong-headed. There is no doubt that crime issues have to be tackled and that there is a relationship between crime and drugs. If we are to be radical and real, and if we are to make a serious attempt to get under the bonnet of the north inner city and other communities, our approach must involve looking at drug addiction issues like the relationship between drug dependency and poverty and the absolutely appalling housing conditions in the north inner city. There are people living in flat complexes in the inner city of Dublin that are really not fit for human occupation. This is 2017. People cannot get access to decent work, no matter how hard they try. If we are serious about changing things, we have to take a radical approach in these areas. We have not seen such an approach so far. What is the Taoiseach's personal commitment to this? He has spoken about officials and Cabinet oversight. A commitment was given that the Taoiseach of the day would personally oversee this work. Does that commitment remain?

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