Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join in welcoming the motion on annexation. It sends an important signal in recognising some of the reality of what is happening in the occupied territories of Palestine. There is more that we can do but the motion is an important step.

I join in the calls for a debate on disarmament that Senator Martin mentioned because Ireland has played a key role in that regard.In a moment when we are seeing a shift away from some of the international principles of disarmament, this is a timely and appropriate debate.

I join previous speakers in welcoming the decision to extend the time allowed for Committee Stage of the Affordable Housing Bill 2021 because it has been a constructive debate. I recognise that there has been some engagement and several amendments have been accepted, including one of mine related to sustainable urban communities, which is the issue I want to speak about.

When we talk about sustainable urban communities, we need to acknowledge the lack of meaningful public space in Dublin city centre. I live in the city centre where, during much of the 2 km lockdown period, St. Stephen's Green and the Iveagh Gardens were closed. All that was open were Merrion Square and a stretch of canal path that is not even 6 ft. wide. We have been talking a great deal about compact growth and encouraging people to live in city centres but we do not create city centre spaces that people can enjoy. Where are families to go at 7 p.m.? Where could a family meet another family outdoors if, like me and many others, they live in an apartment and do not have a back garden? We need to have more public spaces and more diverse kinds of public spaces. I worry at the response that suggests we should shut down more public space and push people back into small apartments where many have been for a year.

The longest queue in Dublin is the one for the public toilets at the top of Grafton Street. That is ridiculous. Flann O'Brien wrote The Hard Lifein the 1960s. He was writing about women's rights being affected by the lack of public toilets. A campaign on that issue runs through his book, yet here we are 40 years later. It is an inequality issue. It becomes harder for families, people with a disability and women when there are no public toilets. We need public bins and we may also need more directly hired and publicly accountable council staff, not for confrontation, but if we are to have an outdoor summer.

We also need to stop sending mixed messages. If we send a message that 1 m distance without a mask is fine for indoors, that sends a signal that it is fine for outdoors. We spent a lot of time showing what 2 m distance is and we have all internalised that distance. When we send signals that we are suddenly shifting to 1 m, we need to be very careful. I am concerned about accelerating that move to 1 m. It has to be done slowly and from an indoor perspective because we are sending that signal and telling young people they need to go back to work, even if they are not vaccinated, in places where 1 m distance will apply.

I join Senator Paddy Burke in calling for a debate on the wider digitalisation agenda. There is a European recovery and resilience strategy and we know there are hundreds of millions of euro being invested in this area. Broadband is part of it but digital empowerment and training for communities are also part of it.