Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to pass on my condolences to my Fianna Fáil colleagues on the death of Councillor Damien O'Reilly. It was unusual to see the outpouring of sympathy and grief last week from way across the political spectrum, particularly from colleagues in County Meath who worked very closely with him. Everybody who worked with him spoke so warmly of him. I want to pass on my condolences to his fiancée and his young baby. I also want to pass on my condolences to the family of Flor O'Mahony, a former Senator and Member of the European Parliament and one of the pioneering members of the Labour Party who was involved in the Brendan Corish Government and the New Republic document published in the 1970s.

I welcomed last week the announcement by the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan that €9 million is going to be allocated towards the stabilisation of the Iveagh Markets. I have raised this issue in the House on a number of occasions. While it is a very welcome gesture, it will not go far enough to save the Iveagh Markets. In 2018, a report was produced providing an Iveagh Markets dilapidation survey, which estimated that the cost at that time for very basic emergency and structural works was going to be €13 million. That was five years ago and we have only seen construction prices increase since then. The works are not going to start until late next year. I really worry that in the interim, the Iveagh Markets are going to fall into further structural danger. There has been an abandonment by the State and Dublin City Council in particular of the Iveagh Markets, a gem in the heart of the Liberties on Francis Street. We handed them over more than 20 years ago to a man who has let them fall into complete dereliction such that the Iveagh Markets are likely to fall down around him. In 2018, I had a motion before the city council when planning permission fell through that would immediately move to take back ownership of the markets. The case has been locked in the courts since then. The original contract given to the publican who took over the Iveagh Markets was that if works did not commence on his redevelopment, ownership would automatically transfer back to Dublin City Council.It was never fully handed over to him and the question of ownership should not be as contested as it is. As we have sat on our hands, the market has fallen down around us and fallen down for the people of Dublin. It can be restored and brought back to its former glory but the State needs to make a concerted effort, and €9 million is simply not good enough. We must have a debate in the House on the Iveagh Markets and our built heritage in Dublin, which we see falling further and further into dereliction.