Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Ó Snodaigh, which will not come as a shock to him. As a good Newcastle West man, I would have to agree with him. Dereliction is an issue that the local authorities have been empowered by this House for donkey's years to deal with. It is not just a Dublin city issue; there are derelict sites all over the country. Our local authorities have ample powers and access to money that they did not have before. It begs the question why they are not doing more. I said a while ago that the Minister for Health cannot know every thermometer in every hospital in the country. Councils are elected to deal with derelict sites in the first instance. They have powers and money and they should deal with it.

With regard to the GPO, I am a former Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works. The GPO is an enormous building and what is seen from the front is really only a facade. There is a massive building behind it and it has a huge potential. It is contained within the national development plan, and I would love to see it being a real driver of O'Connell Street. I stay on O'Connell Street when I stay in Dublin. It is quite sad at the moment and it needs the GPO as a lift in the middle. That will have to be planned with all parties as part of it. I hope we do not go down the road we went down previously when people were divided on other national monuments and things because the GPO is something on which we should not divide.

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