Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)

In Ulysses, James Joyce referred to O'Connell Street from the GPO to Parnell Street as "the dead side of the street." Some 102 years on, not much has changed. Indeed, things have got worse if we think of the wasteland of the Carlton Cinema site and Moore Street, where the top floors of many buildings are held up by bricks.

I thank Sinn Féin and an Teachta Ó Snodaigh for this important motion. While I agree with the vast majority of it, there is an issue regarding the need for ideas as to what we now do with the massive complex that makes up the GPO. I have read the Government amendment and aside from the ridiculous clap on the back it is trying to give itself, I am even more confused as to its intentions. Last November, in the task force, we were told we would have a detailed plan for the GPO in the first quarter of this year. This has not happened. Last week, the Taoiseach said it would be a historical project with first-class retail and office space. Now we are told that the clear intentions were set out in 2021, the detailed proposal will come in time and it will be a post office and offices. This is an appalling lack of commitment to the GPO as a landmark and one of the most important historical buildings in our country's history. It also shows an appalling lack of imagination about what the building could become. We do not need any more shiny, new offices in Dublin. We know there is an office vacancy rate of 18%. We do not want and we do not need any more big-brand retail outlets, particularly in a place like the GPO.

The Labour Party firmly believes that we should not confine the GPO to being a shrine to the past. When we think of the Proclamation and its promise, the signatories to it, including James Connolly, would have very little patience for this in the face of a glaring need prompted by housing distress in Dublin and the devastating, unfulfilled promise of the Proclamation. Instead of having the GPO as a relic to the past, it would be best remembered as a living, breathing institution. At 25,000 sq. m, it is almost two thirds bigger than the pitch in Croke Park. Beyond our beloved post office, which in some ways is the beating heart for many of our lives, those of us who have lived in Dublin a long time and those new to Dublin as well, there are two internal courtyards and five floors of office space. We need to make sure this space is utilised.

As an immediate starting point, we should utilise the office space in the GPO for artists' studios. There is a glaring and pressing need for such studios in the city. We have the office space available. Artists will say they do not need a fancy set-up. They just need natural light and a basic room. Many of the offices in the GPO would fulfil those needs. It would be scandalous to think that two years after the majority of the staff moved out of the GPO, the offices would remain vacant for longer. They should be put to use.

The other key issue is that when we have a discussion about what the GPO should become, we need to set in context that funding for this project is not likely any time soon. As a Dublin Central TD, I know there is already a long list of commitments by the Government that have yet to be fulfilled on the northside of the city and in the north inner city, in particular in areas such as the Parnell quarter and the fruit and vegetable market. Do we really believe Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will allocate the necessary millions to convert the building and bring the office spaces up to date any time soon? Do we really believe they will put in place the necessary historical projects that should go in to the GPO any time soon? I do not believe that will happen. This is why our immediate call is to put the building to use now and then put in place a plan of between five and ten years for the appropriate development of the GPO. We need, rightly, to recognise its history and we also need to ensure it can be an artistic hub into the future, remembering the past but also, crucially, representing the best of the present and what might be in the future for Dublin.

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