Seanad debates
Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Regeneration Projects
1:00 pm
Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State. This is a matter for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, so I am mindful of that. On 7 February last the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on the steps of the Iveagh Markets on Francis Street, made a fantastic announcement of a €9 million investment there for works to preserve the building. It would be really fantastic except it is exactly the same announcement that was made on 21 September 2023 by both the Minister, Deputy O'Brien and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. From September, Dublin City Council was given the go-ahead to go to tender on the works. The tender was due to be publicised in January this year. There is talk that it will take somewhere up to 18 months. The difficulties in all of this are as follows.
In 2019, the Howley Hayes dilapidations report on the Iveagh Markets stated there was urgency because the building was badly damaged. This building was gifted to the people of Dublin by the then Lord Iveagh as a market for the people of Dublin. It has been allowed to just sit there and rot for an incredible length of time when it could be an amazing tourist pull and facility for the local community. It could be an amazing facility. A beautiful building has been left to stand there rotting. In 2019 it was urgent. This is 2024. In contrast, in February 2023 Dublin City Council put out a report that stated the roof could be preserved. In January 2024, it noted there had been a collapse of part of the roof. On a day-to-day basis, when we receive orange weather warnings and so forth, we are just a day away or a storm away from this entire entity collapsing. Nobody has a sense of urgency. All we get are political statements last September and the same one regurgitated in February this year. Meanwhile, the people who are the friends of the Iveagh Markets, such as James Madigan, Noel Fleming and Kim Olin, who are working from day to day in keeping this on the political agenda and protesting outside City Hall, have heartache to see that this beautiful facility is collapsing.
The other issue to note is that in the announcements for the tender, a two-stage tender is up for offer. One stage to prepare access routes and to make it safe for contractors to go in and do the work. Phase 2, with the 18 months, is to put the premises in such a state that it is ready for regular inspection and maintenance. At the end of the €9 million expenditure - which I note is significantly short of the €12 million estimated cost in the Dublin City Council report, so I wonder where the €3 million is coming from - at the end of that, we still will not have a facility to which the community has access, to which the people of Dublin and of the Liberties in particular have access. There is therefore a false building-up of optimism here indicating that this is only a few months or years away. It is not. That is a fact. I have asked for a schedule of works, what are the next steps, what is going on, to try to establish as a matter of fact what the situation is.
Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for her question which, as she pointed out, I am taking on behalf the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Members will be aware of the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, which is a flagship element of Project Ireland 2040. It was established to support more compact and sustainable development through the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s five cities and other large towns in line with the objectives of the national planning framework and the national development plan. This will facilitate a greater proportion of residential and mixed-use development to be delivered within the existing built-up footprints of our cities and towns and will ensure that most parts of our urban areas can become attractive and vibrant places in which people choose to live and work, as well as to invest in and visit. To date, there have been three calls for proposals under the URDF, with more than €1.8 billion provisionally allocated. Calls 1 and 2 are supporting 132 proposals, comprising more than 400 individual projects, while call 3 is supporting the tackling of long-term vacant and derelict properties through a €150 million revolving fund. Under call 1 of the URDF, Dublin City Council received approval for six projects with a funding commitment of €18 million. Under call 2, funding of €174 million was provisionally allocated for the council's two successful proposals, namely, the north inner city concept area 1, to which €121 million is allocated, and the south inner city concept area 1, to which €53 million is allocated. The total funding approved, therefore, under the URDF programme to date in Dublin city comes to €192 million.
Under the third round of funding support, Dublin City Council put forward proposals for essential preservation works to the Iveagh Markets, with an estimated cost of €12 million. Following a detailed review of the proposal, the Department determined that it was in keeping with the aims and objectives of the URDF programme. Consequently, Dublin City Council was approved for a €9.017 million grant for the Iveagh Markets project from the fund.
As the Senator said, the Iveagh Markets building is one of an impressive collection of buildings and places donated to the citizens of Dublin by the Guinness family. However, it is in poor condition due to a combination of neglect and damaging interventions. Parts of the building are now unsafe. The current priority is to prevent further deterioration of this protected structure. Following completion of essential stabilisation and repair work, this significant part of the city's architectural heritage will be secured, allowing Dublin City Council to develop long-term sustainable proposals for its reuse in the future.
The essential stabilisation and repair works required in order to safeguard the structure for future use are estimated to cost €12 million. They consist of the following measures: the backfilling of the site, which was subjected to significant ground removal works in the past, in accordance with archaeological licence conditions; conservation repairs to the roofs, valleys, internal gutters, parapet and large roof lights of the wet market and dry market, including conservation repairs to the access ladders and gantries; conservation repairs or reinstatement of the rainwater disposal system; essential repairs to stabilise the inward leaning parapet of the north-east corner of the markets; essential repairs to stabilise the Diocletian-style arched windows and associated brickwork in the dry market; managing vegetation growth on the site and its structures to ensure it does not further compromise the buildings; protecting and securing the windows and doors; providing safe access to the structure to facilitate a regular inspection and maintenance programme; and identifying and making safe any electrical connections and other utilities in the building.
Dublin City Council has appointed a full design team to manage the project. The works will be carried out in two stages. Stage 1 involves a minor contract for immediate stabilisation works, which will commence in March of the year and finish by early summer. The estimated cost is €200,000. Stage 2 involves comprehensive repair works. They are expected to go to tender and commence onsite by late 2024 and to take up to 18 months to complete.
Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. The urban regeneration and development fund certainly is a noble undertaking. Two minutes of her statement were taken up with outlining what it involves. That is not the Minister of State's fault; she is merely the messenger. I want to know when the Iveagh Markets building will be of use to the people of Dublin rather than standing there unused. The problem is that it has stood empty for decades and was allowed to deteriorate. It is fantastic that the building is to be stabilised and maintained. The works the Minister of State outlined certainly are urgent. However, we need to move on and we need a plan. The cost of the restoration of the market is €23 million. She said that it is a €12 million project, yet the Minister announced an allocation of €9 million. There is a shortfall. I presume it is being paid by Dublin County Council, and so it should because the neglect was caused under its oversight. It occurred on the council's watch. Addressing that neglect is a matter of urgency and it needs to be done immediately.
Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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We have seen something of a transformation of Francis Street recently, with fantastic public realm works completed. Using the further funds under the URDF, Dublin City Council will be in a position to carry out essential works on the Iveagh Markets building, which is a focal point of the street.The works now proposed to be carried out by Dublin City Council are not to be confused with those required to allow the building to reopen for use. The current project scope is limited to essential stabilisation repair works necessary to safeguard the structure. The Minister looks forward to seeing the works progress so that the fabric of this beloved building can be restored and its future secured.
Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. That is an extremely important Commencement matter. Everybody would like to see that work progress as quickly as possible.