Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will relay the Senator's concerns to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. She is correct that the local community has to be involved in the development of the docklands area. I understand such engagement was provided for in the 1987 Act and I know from conversations with my colleagues that the experience has been positive in terms of providing public services and developing schools, etc., in the area. The Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who was principal of a school in the area, and the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, have impressed on me the importance of community representatives to developing the area from a social and economic perspective. That is not to say the process cannot be improved. We need to keep a close eye on it.

In regard to Grangegorman, I understand the Tánaiste and Deputy Joe Costello were central to the inclusion of particular conditions for the development of the DIT campus. That, of course, is a public project which allows for the inclusion of social clauses. Significant employment has been provided to young people in the immediate area of Grangegorman who may have experienced unemployment. That is one way of creating a sense of local ownership of a significant public and social infrastructure project. I support the spirit of what the Senator is trying to achieve. It is important to ensure the existing community in the Docklands has ownership in what may be significant future investment in the area.