Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

For more than 15 years, I have worked with the people in the north inner city and Dublin City Council to try to address dereliction in the core of our capital city. I would like to share some fantastic news with the House today. After years of all our efforts and struggle, this Government has recognised the enormous potential for the regeneration of the north inner city. This morning, it announced an historic commitment and investment of €120 million in the regeneration of our capital's north inner city. These funds will be used to regenerate the birthplace of our Republic, the national monument site on Moore Street, and create a national museum there. Not only that, it will also regenerate the street market, invest in it and bring life back onto the street. It will also invest in the creation of a city library on Parnell Square and create a real cultural quarter there. It will restore Mountjoy Square, which is one of the first intact Georgian squares in the city. It will also invest in the public realm around the Five Lamps, which is the gateway to the city for so many people coming in by Amiens Street. It will reopen and re-energise our fruit and vegetable market, which is a beautiful structure down in the oldest part of our city. I wanted to share that good news with the House. I thank Dublin City Council and all the officials who put the application together and who will work on delivering this for our capital city. I congratulate all the local people and communities in the north inner city, who have remained loyal to the area and kept it alive. They will now be rewarded with State investment in sustainable regeneration, which will add not just to our local area but to our entire country because this is at the heart of our capital city.This tarnished gem will be repolished and will shine bright and welcome visitors from throughout the country and throughout the world. I would like the House to acknowledge the success of the application and wish everybody well with undertaking the works.