Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is on the south side, but I spent a lot of time on the north side, too, as the Senator will be glad to hear. There are some wonderful Georgian streets. The best in Ireland is Henrietta Street which, sadly, is in a terrible state of disrepair. The Kings Inns has managed to preserve the building on Henrietta Street, but it is very sad to see the condition some of the other houses are in. What Dublin City Council and the Government are trying to address in the living city initiative is the key problem of the lack of residential properties, residences and people living above shops, as Senator Feargal Quinn said, as a result of which many areas such as Mountjoy Square can be dead at night. That is what the initiative seeks to tackle.

Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú fairly pointed to the difficulties in seeking EU clearance. The living city initiative was first proposed in 2012 as part of a scheme of property tax incentives to be applied in certain special regeneration areas and to be piloted in Limerick and Waterford. This, therefore, is not just about Dublin, but the centre of Dublin is a key area.The Irish Georgian Society has pointed out that demand for residential property is high in Dublin and the stock of residential properties is low. The situation is different in Limerick and Waterford, where there are smaller residential communities.