Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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Inner city Dublin has a large working class community. This is probably forgotten when people look at its skyline and see sparkling six, eight and ten storey apartment buildings and plenty of cranes. These new buildings have state-of-the-art technology and all the mod cons, but that is in stark contrast to Dublin City Council's housing in Pearse House, Glover's Court and most of the council's flat complexes. The Googles and Facebooks are pushing people out of their communities.

The flat complexes that I have mentioned and many more are almost like modern tenements, but our people deserve better. Bin storage areas are open and the competition between rats and seagulls is intense. If one wants to witness that struggle in bin storage areas, one need only go to Markievicz House, which is less than 1 km from here. Rats travel the flats without fear and, in some cases, have eaten into cars and done such damage that insurance companies have had to write off those cars. In what is not an unusual instance, rats found their way into a flat in Pearse House through the waste pipes, nested behind a wardrobe and ate the electrics at the back of the fridge and cooker at night.

Flooding is a regular occurrence, sometimes with raw sewage. Regularly, raw sewage bursts into the balconies or courtyards from the old pipes. Mould is rampant in the flats, with some rooms being uninhabitable because of its extent. Residents' health is badly impacted because of this, but more often than not, the council just tells people to wipe the mould off with bleach and they will be grand.

The council has lined stairwells with a lining that makes it almost impossible to sweep and is difficult to wash down. This was done without any consultation with residents. Canon Mooney Gardens in Ringsend faces a variety of issues that Dublin City Council has agreed to work on, but that work has stalled once again.

In the 1930s and 1940s when many flat complexes were constructed, they were built to replace the slums across Dublin. They were built to a high standard and have lasted well, but they are no longer suitable for families. Herbert Simms, who was responsible for the design and construction of some 17,000 homes from 1932 to 1948 when the country was on its knees economically, saw the importance of public housing. We now need to see that same commitment from this Government in terms of investing in public housing stock. There has been a great deal of talk about building a sustainable city, but that cannot be achieved while abandoning these communities, which have been the city's backbone for generations.

Dublin City Council has started the process of engaging with residents in Pearse House with a view to regeneration. Will the Government commit to investing in the redevelopment of Pearse House? Residents there and in Macken Villas and flats like them across the city have been left behind. For many reasons, the inner city cannot be left behind. The Government needs to invest as a matter of urgency in Dublin's communities, which have been forgotten. We need to invest in flat complexes not too far from here, for example, Pearse House, Bishop Street, York Street and Digges Street, and other flat complexes around Dublin.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank Deputy Andrews for raising this question and speaking so eloquently on it.

The regular management and maintenance of local authority housing stock is a matter for each relevant local authority and it is open to each authority to address maintenance or improvements to its housing stock from within its own resources. However, my Department also supports local authorities in improving their social housing stock through a range of programmes, including energy retrofitting, regeneration and refurbishment works to vacant properties in order to return these to productive use as quickly as possible.

My Department currently supports a programme of large-scale regeneration projects in Cork, Limerick and Dublin and smaller projects in Tralee, Sligo and Dundalk. These projects seek to address the causes of disadvantage in their communities through a holistic programme of physical, social and economic regeneration. Projects being funded under the programme target the country's most disadvantaged communities, including those defined by the most extreme social exclusion, poverty and deprivation. Between 2016 and 2019, more than 560 units were delivered under the national regeneration programme, supported by funding in excess of €237 million from our Department. There are regeneration projects in the national pipeline that will yield in excess of 740 new homes out to 2023 at an estimated cost of €240 million, which includes a number of significant projects in inner city Dublin.

As the Deputy will be aware, a regeneration project moves through a number of phases during its life: the initial planning stage; decanting of existing tenants; demolition works; enabling works; refurbishment and-or consolidation works in some cases; and construction. The project also moves through a number of pre-construction stages and approvals, with funding being approved for the different phases as required. There may be significant investment in a regeneration project over a number of years before housing units are delivered and ready for occupation.

A number of Dublin City Council projects are currently on site, including phase 1 of the regeneration of St. Teresa's Gardens, which will deliver the first 54 units early in 2021, and Dominick Street, which will deliver 72 units in 2021. Other projects, such as Dolphin House's phase 1b of 35 units, Dorset Street's 115 units in the initial phase and Constitution Hill's 130 units in the initial phase, are all at pre-construction stages.

While the identification of properties for inclusion in any such programme is a matter for the local authority, I understand that Dublin City Council has completed a strategic development audit of its 220 apartment complexes in order to develop a capital housing apartment complex regeneration programme for 2020 to 2040. According to the council, this audit has regard to the physical condition and development potential of the complexes and other relevant factors. The council has identified priorities for each of its 11 electoral areas. I understand that it is examining the feasibility of making a positive intervention at Pearse House, which is a protected structure, and engagement with local elected members and the community will commence shortly.

My Department is working with Dublin City Council in support of advancing this programme, with funding available through various social housing programmes.

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. Clearly, Dublin City Council is filling in the details, but it cannot do this without funding and a commitment. It is important that the Government commits to funding redevelopment projects. Pearse House is a large development of 370 flats and is experiencing many social as well as physical infrastructure issues. It needs to be regenerated. The people there have put up with terrible conditions. None of us here would live in the conditions to which they have been subjected. The Government needs to invest in this project as a matter of urgency.

I welcome the Minister of State's comments. I will keep pushing him on more than just Pearse House. Right across the inner city, there are homes that need to be redeveloped. They are not up to modern standards and would not be acceptable in any other European city. They should not be accepted in Dublin. It is important that we invest in Pearse House and all those flat complexes that are in urgent need of regeneration.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I agree with the Deputy wholeheartedly. The community development and regeneration aspects have to go hand in hand with redevelopment projects. The Department is working closely with all local authorities on increasing and accelerating the delivery of a range of social housing programmes and supports. It is fully committed to working with Dublin City Council on progressing the regeneration proposals in the inner city. The Department has worked consistently with the council in support of the latter's efforts to advance proposals under the regeneration programme and we will continue to do so.

As evidenced by the Department's commitment to supporting public housing in inner city Dublin, funding in excess of €450 million has been approved for social housing programmes, with approximately 20 projects delivering in excess of 1,225 social housing units in such inner city projects as North King Street, Bonham Street, Sackville Avenue, Cork Street, Infirmary Road, Matt Talbot Court and Constitution Hill. It eagerly awaits submissions from Dublin City Council on a variety of new projects, including St. Andrew's Court, Dunne Street and the next phases of the redevelopment at St. Teresa's Gardens. In terms of Pearse House, following completion of the engagement process with local councillors and the local community, it is a matter for Dublin City Council to advance the project accordingly and to submit the proposal to the Department for consideration.

It is important that what we have discussed form part and parcel of our approach to town centres. We want families living in vibrant, sustainable communities in inner city Dublin because that is at the heart of Dublin and in Dublin's future. As such, it is vital that we get this right. I welcome the Deputy's contribution in that regard.