Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The north east inner city task force has done extraordinarily good work but there is more work to be done. How much is the Taoiseach engaged in the programme of implementation? Has the Department or the Taoiseach been briefed on whether the Rutland Street School community hub project has gone to tender yet? When is work expected to start? If the Taoiseach is engaged, he will be able to reply and answer that. The plans for this were announced in 2016. It is now five years later. It was originally believed that it would be funded by central government but now much of it is from the resources of the council. There are numerous competing projects, as the Taoiseach can appreciate. Is it being funded under the urban regeneration fund? If not, why not?

The Labour Party has called for a Mulvey-style commission or task force on the north side of Dublin and another in Drogheda. My colleagues, Senator Marie Sherlock, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and Deputy Ged Nash, have campaigned for this for a long time. We do not believe we can simply police our way out of crime alone. We agree that the plan put in place some years ago had some merit but it needs a great deal of work.

It seems from the evidence that this Government's commitment needs to be renewed. A task force or Mulvey-style commission would really help to deal with many of the ingrained problems in the area. In the Taoiseach's reply he might respond directly about the Rutland Street school community hub project.

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