Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for his comments on the task force and for welcoming it and welcoming the appointment of David McRedmond. I, too, thank Mr. McRedmond for the work he is doing. It is interesting that the Deputy mentioned the impact of Covid. He is correct that in looking to establish this task force, it was looking at examples of capital cities and the impact Covid has had on them. It is very real and it is an issue that many capital cities are trying to grapple with. I mentioned that to the chair when I appointed him. I agree with the Deputy that implementation will be key. One of the things I am asking the chair and the task force to do is to recommend, in their view, the appropriate implementation structure. I am absolutely sure we will get from them innovative thinking and I know Mr. McRedmond to be of that sort.

I have also asked that we get actions with clear owners of the actions. I do not say this to be confrontational. The new chief executive of Dublin City Council has really embraced this and I thank him for that. He sees the value in it. I have no doubt, however, that many of the actions that will flow from this will be for local government. Many will have a funding requirement from the national Government too, and we need, a little like with the Action Plan for Jobs and the likes back in the day, an action plan-type approach to implementation. My Department stands ready to help with any sort of implementation structure, senior officials group or the likes that need to be convened. I will keep Members informed and engage with them as we get towards that.

I thank Deputy O'Reilly for welcoming this and I take the point she makes. She is entirely right - "if it is done right". That is fair comment. I have seen the terms of reference. I do not seem to have them in front of me, but let me send them to the Deputy. My understanding was that they were being finalised. We are giving the group the flexibility to finalise them. My understanding is that the group had its first meeting on 21 May. It was an introductory online meeting but it is due to have a full-day session in An Post next Wednesday, 5 June. That will be the first substantive meeting.

Similarly, I discussed the geographical area with the chair. What is Dublin city centre? In my layman's speak, it is largely from just beyond O'Connell Street right down to Grafton Street and the streets off it. The group will clarify and speak to that because there is a view, and since we have established this, lots of other parts of Dublin have said, "We would like that too." One of the terms of reference is that if there are lessons from this, there is no reason this model could not be replicated in other places, but we have to start somewhere and have a clear, defined understanding of that.

As regards budget and staff, currently, the secretariat is being provided by Dublin City Council but also being supported by officials in my Department, with the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána ready to assist as well. A budget will be required for this. Where that falls will depend on the actions, but I understand that my responsibility in setting this up will obviously mean that we will have to follow through in budget 2025.

On engagement, I know that is something the chair is very much thinking about as to how best to do it. It has to be real and meaningful. I also have to be honest. The group has been asked to do this in 12 weeks. What can you meaningfully do in 12 weeks? I think you can do a lot, but how do you use that time well? I know the chair and the group are very open to engaging with public representatives, and I might ask them to provide a briefing to representatives of the Dublin constituencies if that would be useful.

I am sorry. I am getting used to Taoiseach's Questions. I forgot about Deputy Murphy's and Deputy Farrell's questions. I join them in condemning the arson attack and I am very frustrated and disappointed to hear of another one. I am interested in what Deputy Murphy said because it is my experience as well across the country that communities are calling out and very much rightly distancing themselves with great vigour from the disgusting actions of a few. In fact, I was recently in a community where decent, legitimate people who were not racist or anything else had questions they wanted to ask the Government about what was happening in their town, and as soon as they saw the far right try to hijack it, they called off any form of meeting or engagement because they did not want to be used as pawns by the far right. What I would say to communities is that I accept that we need to do more and to do better in terms of community engagement, but do not allow yourself be hijacked or exploited by the far right in this regard. We are very conscious of security. We discuss it regularly at Cabinet committees and other meetings, as well as the role of An Garda Síochána.

To Deputy Farrell, who is now in the Chair, I think he has highlighted in many ways one of the reasons we need a task force. Safety in Dublin city, as he said, is not just a matter for any one agency. Obviously, the Garda has a major role to play. I am very pleased that we have been able to allocate more gardaí to Dublin Garda stations. I expect more gardaí to be allocated to all Garda stations as numbers continue to attest from Templemore. Also, I know from talking to people, as the Deputy does too, that safety at night does relate to the lighting, the cityscape, the role of the local authority, the availability of public transport and the availability of taxis. It is that idea of trying to pull together what creates a safe city and how a man or a woman can, particularly when they have finished their night out, safely get themselves home. That is something on which I really hope the task force can provide us with a clear to-do list for all the various agencies that have an important role to play in that regard.

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