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

This is a critical feature of our heritage and the character of our city. It is an issue that has been deeply controversial going back to the development of the ESB offices some 50 years ago.

There was rightful controversy. Deputy Smith is right to say that the people protesting at the time were absolutely correct about protecting our Georgian heritage.

My sense from passing the site every day is that the architects have done a good job with the new development. It is remarkable but it seems to me it fits in within the site. We cannot see it fully yet, but it looks like it will be a real enhancement to the city.

I believe having people living in Georgian buildings will achieve something. I absolutely agree with Deputy Smith and I commit 100% that we have to work to ensure that our city does not become someplace where a person can only be wealthy if he or she lives within it. I believe in the objective of getting people, especially families, to live within our Georgian quarter. I believe the nature of offices, what is happening with Covid-19, the need for office space reducing and the building of significant other office space give us the potential to open up or bring back in families and people to live in our Georgian quarter.

In making this call, the ESB has said that these eight units will create more space by dividing them up. If the ESB does succeed in showing an example of how we can get people living back within the Georgian quarter, then I believe it would be a real benefit to our city.

This does not take from the argument made by Deputy Smith, which is absolutely correct, about the need to have a mix of different tenancies and to have housing models so that all people of every income and circumstances can live in the city. Anyway, that should not stop us opening up our Georgian houses and using them to get people living in them again. That would be an important and useful legacy and I support the ESB in its approach to try to make that happen.

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