Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Funding has been provided to assist in the refurbishment of the swimming pool on Sean McDermott Street. Other supports are going into the area. I refer to the SWAN Youth Service, the detached youth work programme and the Green Ribbon Project, through which environmental clean-up and litter prevention measures are being rolled out. I refer also to the purchase of almost 500 laptops and devices to support students in north-east inner-city area schools with the home learning that has been ongoing during the pandemic. A sum of €1 million has been allocated to the social employment fund, through which 55 posts have been filled in community projects providing childcare, youth services, elder care and cultural and environmental services. These measures have been broadly welcomed.

I will address some of the issues that have been raised. With regard to the Rutland Street School site, Part 8 planning approval was granted by Dublin City Council in October 2019 and an enabling works contract to the value of €780,000 was completed in 2019. This was a lead-in contract to assess structural loading, asbestos volumes and so on in advance of main contract works. Tender documents for the main construction contract were issued in July 2020. The main construction contract for the Rutland Street School redevelopment is in the final stages of the public procurement process. Following completion of restricted procedure stage 1 in the fourth quarter of 2020, a number of shortlisted firms were invited to submit tenders for stage 2. Evaluation of these tender submissions is currently under way and it is anticipated that this process will be completed in the coming weeks. That is good news for this particular development. I agree with Deputy Gannon.

Deputy Kelly made the point that we need to create area-based partnerships such as that created in the north-east inner city elsewhere. I have tasked my Department to work with the Cabinet subcommittee on social affairs to identify a number of areas of disadvantage or areas with particular challenges for which to prioritise supports. This was the approach of the old revitalising areas through planning, investment and development, RAPID, programme which we created years ago when I was last in government. The idea is that clubs and organisations in those communities are to be given higher ratings when applying for funding. This would mean that Corinthians Boxing Club, for example, would be more highly prioritised. I will ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to look at the area of boxing because some clubs need support both in making applications and in making sure that they are successful in getting the supports they urgently need in partnership with local authorities, the county and city councils. Such clubs do great work.

I would like the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to work with Dublin North East Inner City and with the sporting groups in the community in respect of soccer, GAA, which the Deputy mentioned, and other sports. This is where investment should go. I have no difficulty in working with Government to provide capital investment in these areas for sporting facilities, particularly AstroTurf pitches and so on in inner-city locations.

With regard to childcare, I will speak to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in respect of investment. There has, however, been sustained investment in childcare in inner-city areas. There has also been sustained investment in education. Going way back, I was involved in providing funding for Larkin Community College. There has been consistent engagement and support. I take the point made in respect of housing. I will engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, with regard to the issues pertaining to childcare. More generally, housing has a role to play in the revitalisation of the area. In addition to supporting the existing community, we have to work to ensure that younger generations can aspire to housing within the community. We have to work to refurbish existing housing stock and to create new housing provision in the area. The early years are important but, as I pointed out in my earlier reply, I am very committed to the provision of multidisciplinary supports from physiotherapy to speech and language therapy and occupational therapy for children. A multidisciplinary team-based approach is vital.

See this speech in context