Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Inner city Dublin has a large working class community. This is probably forgotten when people look at its skyline and see sparkling six, eight and ten storey apartment buildings and plenty of cranes. These new buildings have state-of-the-art technology and all the mod cons, but that is in stark contrast to Dublin City Council's housing in Pearse House, Glover's Court and most of the council's flat complexes. The Googles and Facebooks are pushing people out of their communities.

The flat complexes that I have mentioned and many more are almost like modern tenements, but our people deserve better. Bin storage areas are open and the competition between rats and seagulls is intense. If one wants to witness that struggle in bin storage areas, one need only go to Markievicz House, which is less than 1 km from here. Rats travel the flats without fear and, in some cases, have eaten into cars and done such damage that insurance companies have had to write off those cars. In what is not an unusual instance, rats found their way into a flat in Pearse House through the waste pipes, nested behind a wardrobe and ate the electrics at the back of the fridge and cooker at night.

Flooding is a regular occurrence, sometimes with raw sewage. Regularly, raw sewage bursts into the balconies or courtyards from the old pipes. Mould is rampant in the flats, with some rooms being uninhabitable because of its extent. Residents' health is badly impacted because of this, but more often than not, the council just tells people to wipe the mould off with bleach and they will be grand.

The council has lined stairwells with a lining that makes it almost impossible to sweep and is difficult to wash down. This was done without any consultation with residents. Canon Mooney Gardens in Ringsend faces a variety of issues that Dublin City Council has agreed to work on, but that work has stalled once again.

In the 1930s and 1940s when many flat complexes were constructed, they were built to replace the slums across Dublin. They were built to a high standard and have lasted well, but they are no longer suitable for families. Herbert Simms, who was responsible for the design and construction of some 17,000 homes from 1932 to 1948 when the country was on its knees economically, saw the importance of public housing. We now need to see that same commitment from this Government in terms of investing in public housing stock. There has been a great deal of talk about building a sustainable city, but that cannot be achieved while abandoning these communities, which have been the city's backbone for generations.

Dublin City Council has started the process of engaging with residents in Pearse House with a view to regeneration. Will the Government commit to investing in the redevelopment of Pearse House? Residents there and in Macken Villas and flats like them across the city have been left behind. For many reasons, the inner city cannot be left behind. The Government needs to invest as a matter of urgency in Dublin's communities, which have been forgotten. We need to invest in flat complexes not too far from here, for example, Pearse House, Bishop Street, York Street and Digges Street, and other flat complexes around Dublin.

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