Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. I am proud to stand beside Deputy Gannon, who speaks with such a strong voice for Dublin city centre. He always has done, in particular on issues related to how we make Dublin a place for all people and really protect our culture and heritage.

I want to briefly cover three key points. The first is that the GPO is such a vital part of our heritage and a historical site of the greatest importance to the Irish nation.

Second, when I am on the doorsteps and people talk about safety in the city centre, they also talk about the lack of space as a factor contributing to that.

Finally, I want to reflect on the question of what we want our city to be. Is le gach uile dhuine ar an oileán seo ár stair, ár gcultúr agus ár n-oidhreacht. Many people criticise the city centre as being devoid of personality and of history. We must look at our city as not just somewhere for commerce, but somewhere for culture and history. There are plenty of retail and hospitality spaces in the city centre already. What there is a lack of is community space, cultural space, spaces that connect us as individuals and as a nation with our own history. It is not unique to Dublin to have historical sites in the middle of the city centre. What is unique is that we have not protected them. Other cities are able to balance that history with corporate and private interests and it is time we did that for our capital.

I want to speak about safety because I have heard from countless people in my constituency, Dublin Rathdown, which is a Dublin suburb, about how they worry coming into Dublin city centre. They do not just talk about Garda numbers or street lighting but about the fact that there is nowhere for community or that is dedicated to community. Not only does this proposed development for O'Connell Street erase a key part of our history but it replaces it with just another shopping centre and it does not fix any of the issues a lot of people have around safety in our city.

That brings me to my final question, which is what we want our city to be. When people look back on us in 100 years, we do not want them to say we knew the price of everything but the value of nothing. In every part of the city we are seeing privatisation - in healthcare, housing, public services, childcare and bin collection. That takes what should be for everyone and makes it just for some. That process is also incredibly difficult to reverse. Dublin city centre should be for everyone. The GPO, as a vital part of our history, should be for everyone. It should be somewhere that encourages people to engage with that history and that inspires art and culture, not somewhere that dismisses it as irrelevant or unprofitable.

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