Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Taoiseach, I thank Senator Ardagh for raising this matter today. In July 2016 as the Senator stated, the Government launched a major initiative for Dublin's north east inner city, in response to the series of gangland murders in the area and beyond, which arose from the ongoing feud between certain criminal gangs. To assist the work of the ministerial task force, Mr. Kieran Mulvey was appointed to engage with local community, public representatives and other stakeholders on the profound challenges facing the communities of Dublin's north east inner city and to report back with specific recommendations which would support the long-term economic and social regeneration of the area.

The Mulvey report, Creating a Brighter Future, was published in February 2017 and recommended a number of actions to tackle the priority areas of crime and drugs, education, training and employment opportunities, as well as services for families and young people and physical improvements. This report was further supplemented by the north east inner city strategic plan from 2020 -to 2023. Implementation of the Mulvey report and strategic plan is being overseen and progressed by the programme implementation board. The board meets on a monthly basis and its members include representatives from relevant Departments and State agencies, businesses and the local community. The Government has recognised that disadvantaged areas require new forms of assistance to help them prosper. In line with the programme for Government, we are continuing to examine how the model of intervention in the north east inner city could be extended to other comparative areas experiencing disadvantage. Looking at the north-east inner city initiative and other area-based models, it is clear that there is value in consolidating and integrating the various State-funded and sponsored interventions already under way in these areas and making sure that they are responsive to the real needs of local communities.

A programme board of relevant Departments and public bodies has been established under the auspices of the Department of the Taoiseach. Its work is focused on consolidating or aligning existing efforts at local area level and building on the structures in place to make them work; consolidating and investing in resources that support collaboration and innovation; improving capacity to use evidence and harness existing data in a hyper-local way to respond to specific needs; and reviewing how the State funding apparatus can be an enabler for collaboration and could incentivise consortia and joint enterprises. Local community safety partnership pilots are also being trialled in Longford, Waterford and the north inner city in Dublin.

There is no doubt that there are increased concerns regarding violence and antisocial behaviour in Dublin city centre. In response to this, earlier this month, on 7 May, the Government agreed to appoint a task force to take a holistic view of the measures required to rejuvenate Dublin city centre, both north and south. The goal is to make the whole of Dublin city centre a more thriving, attractive and safe cityscape, and a desirable location to live, work, do business and visit. David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, has agreed to serve as the independent chair of the task force and will bring his wealth of insights and experience to the role.

Evidence from international perspectives suggests that cities need to take an integrated approach that includes a wide range of actions to create socially, economically and environmentally sustainable city centres that can thrive. There is a generally held view that if a city is safe with a low crime rate, people will visit, socialise and consume goods and services in the area, in turn attracting others to do so. People make other people feel safe.

Taking an evidence-based approach to its work, at the end of July, the task force will deliver a cohesive and focused list of recommendations that will complement work already under way within Dublin city co-ordination office and existing initiatives such as Dublin’s north east inner city initiative and the Dublin north inner city local community safety partnership. This will deliver on a shared vision of central Dublin’s public space, both north and south. I assure the Senator it is also envisaged that the task force recommendations may be transferable to other areas of the city.