Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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7. To ask the Taoiseach the status of the north inner city ministerial task force; and if he will continue to chair this body. [32894/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The independent report on the north east inner city undertaken by Kieran Mulvey recommended a wide range of actions to advance the social and economic regeneration of that area. While acknowledging the profound challenges facing the area and its people, the report highlighted a number of significant assets in the area such as its strong community spirit, its proud history, dedicated local projects, and its prime location beside a growing business community. Building on these positives, the report set out a range of actions to tackle the priority areas of crime and drugs, education, training and employment opportunities, services for families and young people and physical improvements.

As recommended in the report, a number of new structures have been put in place to drive forward progress on the actions. These include the programme implementation board comprising statutory, community and business sectors, led by an independent chairperson, Mr. Michael Stone. The board is being supported in its work by a local programme office which has been established by Dublin City Council in Sean McDermott Street. The board is responsible for the development and delivery of a detailed implementation plan and oversight of funding.

The chair of the board is reporting on a regular basis to the oversight group of senior officials chaired by the Secretary General of my Department. This is to ensure continued strong engagement across all Government Departments and agencies and to deal with any structural barriers and issues highlighted by the board. I will continue to ensure that ministerial oversight and support of this initiative is provided through the Cabinet committee system.

The programme implementation board has quickly established four sub-groups, which have strong community involvement. These will help to develop more detailed measures where required to address the actions and recommend steps to overcome particular barriers or gaps in service provision. While this work is ongoing, the board has agreed a number of proposals across the four priority headings for implementation in 2017 at a cost of €2.5 million. This is in addition to the range of local measures already implemented in 2016, which will cost about €5 million.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I acknowledge that the appointment of Michael Stone to chair and to lead the implementation board is very welcome. I have met with Mr. Stone and have formed the view that he is very much in the business of getting things done, which he will have to be.

Notwithstanding the work done by Kieran Mulvey, which I also acknowledge, the report essentially amounts to a listing of a number of initiatives that were already in place and a restatement of moneys that were already promised. While it has some nuggets of truth and there are some interesting parts interlaced in it, I would be misleading the House if I said we are anything other than disappointed and underwhelmed by what has been produced. Given the scale of what needs to be done here, and in light of the depth of the change and radical innovation that is required, tinkering on the edges will not get us very far. I would always be the first to welcome and argue in favour of the provision of small amounts of additional money for local projects, many of which are crying out for funding and resources. The idea that throwing a few bob here and there will sort things or fundamentally change things in this community is just wrong. The community is well aware of that. The collaborative and cross-political party work that has been done by the North Inner City Community Coalition forms the basis of the type of analysis, blueprint and vision that is required to move things along.

I would like to highlight something that the Taoiseach mentioned in his reply. I have spoken to Michael Stone about this. It is an example of how the old thinking still dominates. It is a mistake to bunch crime and drugs together. I do not suggest that there is no relationship between drugs and crime, because it is clear that there is such a relationship. Those who seek to pretend that a criminal justice response will sort out the ravages of drugs in this and other communities - something which is just not true - are missing the essential social dynamic around drug abuse, misuse and addiction. I thought we had reached a position of political understanding and consensus that this approach is wrong-headed. There is no doubt that crime issues have to be tackled and that there is a relationship between crime and drugs. If we are to be radical and real, and if we are to make a serious attempt to get under the bonnet of the north inner city and other communities, our approach must involve looking at drug addiction issues like the relationship between drug dependency and poverty and the absolutely appalling housing conditions in the north inner city. There are people living in flat complexes in the inner city of Dublin that are really not fit for human occupation. This is 2017. People cannot get access to decent work, no matter how hard they try. If we are serious about changing things, we have to take a radical approach in these areas. We have not seen such an approach so far. What is the Taoiseach's personal commitment to this? He has spoken about officials and Cabinet oversight. A commitment was given that the Taoiseach of the day would personally oversee this work. Does that commitment remain?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Having spent the last couple of Sundays in the north-east inner city, I can say that the people there do sympathy very well. This area is crying out for action and real activity, rather than spin, statements and ministerial visits. While Michael Stone has the potential to make a real difference, he will be unable to do so unless he is given an appropriate and dedicated budget that is not coming from other areas of Dublin city or other urban communities across the country. I would like to follow up on Deputy McDonald's question. Who is the lead Minister? Is the Office of the Taoiseach still the lead office in implementing this? If the Taoiseach is no longer the lead Minister, what metrics has he set to see where this is going? Who will report back to him? Will a specific allocation for the north-east inner city be made in the forthcoming capital plan and in next month's budget?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I wish Michael Stone well in the position to which he has been appointed. There has been a total lack of apprenticeships for young men and women in the north inner city, particularly since the collapse in construction in 2008. The apprenticeships offered by famous educational institutions in the north inner city have always represented an important educational transit point in that area, especially for those moving onto further education. I refer, for example, to DIT Bolton Street, which has a whole school of apprenticeship. If the Taoiseach is chairing this committee, I strongly recommend that he should go to the Linenhall building in Bolton Street to look at what can be done successfully for young people who want to do apprenticeships rather than staying in school. Many such people choose not to stay in school because it has been a negative experience or because their family circumstances do not provide for it. Some of the most qualified engineers in our society came from places like the school of trades in Bolton Street and its counterpart on Kevin Street on the south side. In addition to inventing new solutions, we need to use some of the existing resources we have. When I spoke to some of the staff members two weeks ago, they told me they can hardly talk to anybody in government.

I would like to make another point about these plans. Large parts of the north inner city are filthy. I listened with great joy to yesterday's announcement that various towns, villages and suburbs in different parts of Dublin had won prizes in the Tidy Towns competition. If we are to reinvigorate the north inner city and give concrete opportunities to those who live there, Dublin City Council must respect the places where people are living by helping to clean them up. We have to address the casual dumping of litter, which is one of the most debilitating things for the self-image of a community. Deputy McDonald spoke about how old some of the blocks of flats are. People like living in the north inner city. As Deputy Calleary said, the people there are very friendly and very positive. The local authorities are not sufficiently respecting the people who live in the north inner city by improving their environment to the point where those who have pride in their homes can have pride in the overall city centre as well. Many of those who are paying property tax ask me all the time what they are getting for it and why they are not getting clean streets.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is important to point out some of the key actions that are included in the report, including the refurbishment and reopening of Fitzgibbon Street Garda station, which will become a centre for community policing and local drug enforcement. There will be an increase in the level of local gardaí in the community. A new policing plan will be drawn up. A single platform will be introduced to streamline education, training and employment activation efforts. A skills need assessment will inform the training requirements and job and apprenticeship opportunities in the area. A specialist hub will be developed for highly vulnerable families. A new model of in-school speech and language therapy will be piloted. A single youth leadership development programme will be provided. There will be a comprehensive physical refurbishment plan for the area. Some very significant things are under way. There will be some community consultative events, with the first meeting to be held on 19 October. As I have mentioned, Michael Stone has been appointed as the independent chair of the local programme implementation board, which has already met on three occasions, on 28 June, 2 August and 30 August. It is scheduled to meet again this week. As I have said, a community consultative event will be held in October.

Deputy McDonald is right when she says that bunching crime and drugs together is wrong-headed. Addiction, as opposed to recreational drug use, is very much a social issue. I would rather see it addressed as a health issue than as a criminal justice issue. Like a number of people in this Chamber, I know the north inner city very well not because of my happy visits there in recent weeks, but because of my regular visits there all the time. I know because I am there all the time that it is an area where many good things are happening. I am disappointed that nobody mentioned any of them, so I might mention a few now. The student accommodation that is coming on stream across the north inner city is a very positive thing.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There will be very few locals living in that accommodation.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Or working in it.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Taoiseach know what the housing list looks like?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It will transform these areas for the better.

The Luas cross city, the order for which I signed six years ago today, will be carrying passengers back and forth through the north inner city from December helping to regenerate large parts of the north inner city from O'Connell Street all the way up to Broadstone and linking with Broombridge station. The Dublin Institute of Technology, DIT, Grangegorman project is phenomenal. It is great to see that-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is not in the scope of the work. It is the north-west inner city.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is fairly near it.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Castleknock is fairly near it.

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach, without interruption.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Also, the Summerhill primary care centre-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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At last.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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-----is a very significant addition. Somebody is doing a great job for the north inner city and many good things are happening. While there are many problems, we should acknowledge that people are actually delivering and things are happening. Even in regard to litter, and I know it is still a litter black spot, the recent Irish Business Against Litter, IBAL, survey showed an improvement in the north inner city. The city council is investing more in cleaning the streets and more needs to be done.

In terms of where it is led from, it is still being led from my Department but we are in a different phase now. It is no longer a case of a Taoiseach chairing a task force. It is a case of an implementation board implementing the recommendations, and that is being led by Mr. Stone. It has a dedicated budget and that budget resides in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.