James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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12. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if his Department could help support the Dublin city task force recommendation for a meanwhile-use strategy for privately owned lands in Dublin city centre to utilise the city’s vacant space for musical, artistic and cultural events, artists workspaces, community spaces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10058/25]

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I wish to ask the Minister if his Department could support the Dublin city task force recommendation for a meanwhile-use strategy for privately owned lands in Dublin city centre to utilise the city's vacant space for musical, artistic and cultural events, artists' workspaces, community spaces, and if he will make a statement.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Go n-éirí leis mar Theachta Dála do Bhaile Átha Cliath. I hope he has a very enjoyable time here as a Member of the Dáil.

Our Department is a member of the interdepartmental group on the report of the Dublin city task force, which is chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach. This group is devising a roadmap for delivery of the recommendations contained in the task force’s report. The membership of the group includes Dublin City Council, which leads in the area of meanwhile-use in Dublin city centre. My Department will continue to engage with the council and other stakeholders to ensure that all opportunities for additional creative and cultural spaces are maximised.

The issue of meanwhile-use is a key action in the report of the night-time economy task force co-ordinated by the Department. This report is a cross-government report containing a number of actions across a broad range of issues associated with the night-time economy. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is leading an examination of the practical implications of meanwhile-use for planning and other legislative codes to enable the potential for buildings to be used for night-time cultural activities, as well as looking at alternative uses for those spaces by day.

Significant progress is being made in this area and this work will feed into the review of the planning and development regulations that has commenced following the enactment of the Planning and Development Act on 17 October 2024. Feedback from a stakeholder consultation process with relevant Government and sectoral stakeholders may also feed into the development of any plans for a strategy in Dublin city.

My Department also provides the funding for a full-time night-time adviser post in Dublin City Council as part of a network of nine night-time advisers across the country. The adviser has an ambitious plan, with funding provided by my Department and other stakeholders, to create a dynamic, inclusive and vibrant nightlife in Dublin city centre. Many of these priorities closely align with the priorities identified in the task force report, particularly in the areas of increased cultural activity, safety and accessibility. The adviser will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that this ambition is realised and will play a key role in supporting any meanwhile-use strategy for the city.

I will continue to work with Dublin City Council and all of the stakeholders to promote a more vibrant and sustainable night-time economy.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister, and I wish him well in his brief as well. I thank him for his reply. It is very encouraging to see both the alignment of the existing night-time strategy with the recommendations that were already in the Dublin city task force, and the emphasis that both the Minister and the Department have placed on the use of meanwhile-use strategies.

Ultimately, when we talk about the challenges in Dublin city around safety and security, it is not just a policing problem. Yes, we need more gardaí on our streets. Yes, we need more arrests, detections and prosecutions but everybody who works and lives in the city, and everyone who visits the city, recognises that the challenges for Dublin city are much greater than simply a justice problem. A big element of this is about giving people good reasons to come into the city.

A huge part of the cultural offering that Dublin can offer could be delivered through an aggressive meanwhile-use strategy, in particular by imposing on private landlords to use their vacant buildings for cultural uses.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I do not disagree at all with what the Deputy has said. There is a role for the public sector here as well. It is clear that not all of our public buildings are being maximised to the full potential that they have. Since Covid, we know that more and more people are working from home and we still have the same level of building space and one has to ask whether they are being used for their full potential. There is no doubt about it.

It is not just a night-time issue. If one speaks to anybody running a coffee shop or sandwich bar in Dublin - this is not just a Dublin issue; it is an urban issue across the country - they will say that they are facing massive challenges with regard to the changed working environment and what that means for their turnover. It also creates a question with regard to how we are using our space as property owners and whether it is being used to the most effective use possible. It should not be restricted to just the private sector, and I know the Deputy is not suggesting that either. The public sector has a big role to play in this. Certainly, as a landowner and property owner in the city, the State has a big role in it too.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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One of the biggest examples of that would be the GPO itself. The task force report includes a recommendation that by the end of the first quarter of this year, decisions will be made on what use the GPO will be put to. More than 800 people used to work in that place. When they left that place, that reduced the number of people coming into an area of our city that has proven to be the most challenging when it comes to antisocial behaviour and crime. It is such an historic and beautiful building. There are so many uses that it could be put to. Yes, people from the Civil Service could be redeployed into that building, but there are some bigger ideas too, not least having elements of RTÉ or other museums move into that building. Does the Minister have his own thoughts as to how the GPO could be put to best use?

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with Deputy Geoghegan on this matter. Many derelict sites in this city could be used not just for artistic purposes but also for allotments. We need to look at that and ensure that, somehow or other, we incentivise those who are hoarding land in this city to make use of it. First of all it should be used for residential property, but if a project is delayed for a year or two, we should be able to find uses for these buildings and ensure that artists in particular can find the space, which they do not have at the moment, to practise their crafts.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I agree with Deputy Ó Snodaigh, which will not come as a shock to him. As a good Newcastle West man, I would have to agree with him. Dereliction is an issue that the local authorities have been empowered by this House for donkey's years to deal with. It is not just a Dublin city issue; there are derelict sites all over the country. Our local authorities have ample powers and access to money that they did not have before. It begs the question why they are not doing more. I said a while ago that the Minister for Health cannot know every thermometer in every hospital in the country. Councils are elected to deal with derelict sites in the first instance. They have powers and money and they should deal with it.

With regard to the GPO, I am a former Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works. The GPO is an enormous building and what is seen from the front is really only a facade. There is a massive building behind it and it has a huge potential. It is contained within the national development plan, and I would love to see it being a real driver of O'Connell Street. I stay on O'Connell Street when I stay in Dublin. It is quite sad at the moment and it needs the GPO as a lift in the middle. That will have to be planned with all parties as part of it. I hope we do not go down the road we went down previously when people were divided on other national monuments and things because the GPO is something on which we should not divide.