Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here to discuss this matter, which has gone on for years. It relates to Clongriffin DART station on its Baldoyle side and the Myrtle estate at The Coast. I will share an email with the Minister of State that I received on Monday. This does not just go back to this week. I visited the site in August 2018 and, since then at least, issues have constantly been raised by residents. The email reads:

Today Monday September 18 marks two weeks since the lift access in the stairwell from Myrtle to Baldoyle to Clongriffin DART station has been out of order. The developer, Richmond Homes, the owners and maintainers of the lift and stairs, have given residents a timeline of a further two to three weeks before the lift can be repaired. With the lift out of order, there is no access for people with mobility and sight issues, those with young children in push chairs or travelling by bike from both Myrtle and Clongriffin. This is the fourth time within this month alone that the lift has been out of service. Built in 2010, this temporary structure is made up of four flights of perforated metal stairs and a lift that for years has been in and out of service. Thirteen years on, the stairwell and lift have fallen into massive disrepair and when it has been working it is often filled with urine, faeces, drug paraphernalia and vomit. Badly lit at night, the stairwell has become a hub for antisocial behaviour and a hang-out spot for gangs of young adults and regular drug use, resulting in residents feeling unsafe to travel through, especially if female and alone. As I am sure you know, in June, Myrtle, the Coast Residents' Association launched a petition calling for safe, universal access to Clongriffin. To date, the petition has gathered over 2,600 signatures. The residents are encouraging public representatives to attend a peaceful meet-up at 6.30 p.m. on Monday, 25 September, inviting all public representatives.

It is signed by Samantha O'Flanagan, from Myrtle, the Coast Residents Association. I do not know if the Minister of State has been to Clongriffin DART station. The DART station was opened in 2010. It is one of the newest DART stations in the network and it has frequently had problems with antisocial behaviour. The glass on the facade is frequently broken. The ticket machines have been vandalised. There have been issues of quite serious antisocial behaviour on the train line beside the station. This stairwell has been a constant problem. The problem is that it is in private ownership and its managers are not doing their job.

I remember back in 2018, when I tweeted about the state of the stairwell, Mazars, which was in charge of it, got in contact with my office asking me to take down the tweet, because it felt it was unfair. Now, however, it is the responsibility of Richmond Homes, and the residents are not satisfied. They feel that Iarnród Éireann or the State agencies need to take ownership of the access. If you have a mobility issue, if you are vulnerable, or if you have any other reason, you will not gain access to this public transport link. It may feel like a small issue but if this is your access point to the DART network, it is not safe, it is not secure and residents in that area feel like they are being disrespected. Those who have mobility issues and access requirements are also being disrespected. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State’s answer.

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