James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister, and I wish him well in his brief as well. I thank him for his reply. It is very encouraging to see both the alignment of the existing night-time strategy with the recommendations that were already in the Dublin city task force, and the emphasis that both the Minister and the Department have placed on the use of meanwhile-use strategies.

Ultimately, when we talk about the challenges in Dublin city around safety and security, it is not just a policing problem. Yes, we need more gardaí on our streets. Yes, we need more arrests, detections and prosecutions but everybody who works and lives in the city, and everyone who visits the city, recognises that the challenges for Dublin city are much greater than simply a justice problem. A big element of this is about giving people good reasons to come into the city.

A huge part of the cultural offering that Dublin can offer could be delivered through an aggressive meanwhile-use strategy, in particular by imposing on private landlords to use their vacant buildings for cultural uses.

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