Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, for taking this short Topical Issue debate. The Phoenix Park is Dublin's green lung. It is the people's park for the people of Dublin and indeed for people from all over Ireland. It receives significant numbers of tourists. It is one of the largest walled parks in a city. It is of vital importance to Dublin's environmental ecosystem. The Minister of State might not appreciate the degree of surprise in the community when a detailed document of just under 200 pages in length was published a couple of weeks ago without any advance notice to local organisations and local residents, who are very much dedicated to the Phoenix Park. I have a small copy of the document in question, which is dated October 2018 but was published very recently. People were given three weeks to submit their views on this complex document. Unfortunately, no copies of the full document were made available to public representatives of the neighbourhoods adjoining the park or to residents' associations. I persuaded the awfully nice parks staff to give me a loan of a copy. I know that a representative of the Navan Road residents' association has also got a loan of a copy. I do not know what has happened in the OPW, but documents like this have simply not been made available.

I have a number of suggestions to put to the Minister of State. They could make the whole process much better and lead to very good consultation between citizens and the people who have been putting forward these proposals. First, given that the two-week extension announced by the Minister is not enough, especially as the overall consultation period encompasses St. Patrick's Day and Easter, I suggest that the period be extended until the end of May so that this 200-page document can be examined in some detail. Second, I suggest that copies of this document be placed in libraries and community centres in the areas surrounding the park. This would give the public an opportunity to look at it. Third, I suggest that the authors of the study meet and consult the public, residents' associations and others who are interested in the park. The engineers involved in BusConnects, which was initially a computer desk-based survey, would confirm that the consultations which have been held in that instance have helped them to understand local geography and topography in various parts of Dublin. I think a similar approach should be taken in the case of the Phoenix Park.

I agree with the document's description of the OPW as one of the stakeholders in the park because the OPW has been looking after the park for many years. The document also suggests that the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is a stakeholder. I do not know where the Department comes in. The other stakeholder mentioned is Fáilte Ireland. The people of Ireland, including the residents of the areas of Dublin adjoining the park, are not mentioned on the list. Given that the Government is all about spin and communication, it should appreciate that the Phoenix Park belongs to us all. What is the Minister of State's vision of the purpose of this document? Where is the budget provision for it? There are many good proposals in it. I have advanced many of them previously.

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