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

Dublin City Council is there to run this city. That is why we have councils. We have each way bets all the time in the House, saying that we have taken too much power from local authorities. Dublin City Council has to be at the heart of the rejuvenation of O'Connell Street. A community safety partnership has been established for some time.

As I said at the end of my first reply I was open, but I think it needs more discussion. The idea of the Office of the Taoiseach being the panacea for everything in the country is not a runner. The Office of the Taoiseach led work on the north-east inner city and so on. We are moving from different parts of the city all of the time. It needs something more structured and systemic than just a task force. I will give consideration to what the Deputy has put forward, as I said. Of course, the Deputy did not listen and hear that. She came back and had a go at previous Ministers and the current Minister for Finance as if to say it is up to him to sort out all of these issues. It is much more complex than that, and the Deputy knows that. In council areas in other cities, councils come up with plans and ideas as to how cities should develop.

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