Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the extension of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act and I will support it. However, we need to be honest here. This legislation has been extended multiple times and we must move beyond temporary measures. It is time to make it permanent. I sat on the Dublin City Council at the same time as the Minister, and to think then that we would be in the Dáil discussing benches. This should be an issue for councils. We have all seen the positive impact that outdoor dining has had on our city. Capel Street stands as a testament to what can be achieved when we open our public spaces to people. What was once known as a transit route has been made more vibrant, energetic and inviting. There is no question that outdoor dining has played a vital role in that transformation. We can have the kind of outdoor culture we associate with many other cities, if not the weather.

This legislation enjoys broad support across the Chamber and across the city because it speaks to something simple and human: the right for people to gather, congregate, sit down and just enjoy each others' company over food and a drink. This legislation has broad support for that purpose but we must go further. Let us use this as an opportunity to have a conversation about what can make our city streets more welcoming, more inclusive and safer. What else can we do to create a city that truly belongs to the people who use it? There needs to be more recognition that the design of our cities and streets can bring people together or push them apart. The recent spell of good weather has brought into sharp relief just how few free, accessible public spaces there are for people to gather and enjoy free of charge. We have all seen the scenes on Drury Street, packed with people and with a gorgeous atmosphere, but one that is ultimately unsustainable. Business owners should not be placed in the impossible situation of asking people to not sit down outside their premises. That responsibility cannot lay with people who are simply trying to keep their doors open. We have placed a burden on commercial spaces to act as substitutes for public ones. We are a city with no shortage of derelict sites, vacant lands and underused laneways. What is lacking is imagination and the political will to take these spaces and reimagine them as part of a shared civic life. It would take just a fraction of imagination and investment to reimagine derelict of vacant sites as vibrant public hubs - places where people can sit, rest, meet and enjoy the city without having to spend money. I think about places in my own area like Talbot Street and O'Connell Street if they only had dedicated public seating and community spaces. Initially, eyes would roll, and people would say they are not safe. I do not agree for a second. I believe public infrastructure adds to the sense of safety within a community. We should not be allowing people to just exist in a city without needing to pay for the privilege and the benefit for local businesses would come from it too. This is not an either-or situation. We can support our hospitality sector and invest in public realm improvements at the same time. Both those things go hand in hand. Thriving cities across Europe understand this. When people are put first alongside commerce and community, they can flourish together.

Coming back to the legislation, however, we can support our hospitality sector. I will vote for the extension but let us not pretend this is a long-term solution. The fact that we keep continuing to renew what has clearly become essential city infrastructure is frankly a waste of legislative time and energy and resources that should be directed towards other crises and sectors across the country. Let us just make it permanent. Let us give local authorities the clarity they need, businesses the confidence to invest and communities the certainty that this transformation of public spaces is not just fleeting or conditional, but here to stay.

Finally, I echo and strongly support the points raised previously by my former colleague, Catherine Murphy, when she talked about accessibility in legislation and the broader public space agenda it supports that must work for everyone. We have heard multiple reports of wheelchair users and people with mobility challenges being blocked from footpaths by poorly placed furniture, signs and sandwich boards. That is not acceptable; it should not be acceptable. If we are talking about making our city more inclusive, that must include everybody regardless of mobility. That means proper regulations, proper enforcement and commitment to universal design in that public realm. Let us, therefore, be ambitious and intentional. When I speak about legislation such as this that deals with the public realm, my mind always goes to the city I love and operate in every day. However, let us imagine we were talking about some broader, bigger concepts. My eyes rolled into the back of my head a couple of weeks ago when I heard Fine Gael councillors and Ministers having a back and forth about whether we should have a tourist tax in this city; of course we should. We should be looking at how we generate revenues for a city not just like Dublin but like Galway and others. These are the conversations that would be substantial in this area. For the moment, however, I support the relevance of this legislation.

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