Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State and Government Chief Whip, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, to the Chamber. Senator Ardagh has four minutes.

Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh. I thank the Minister of State for coming here today. My Commencement matter is on the need for the Taoiseach to make a statement on the establishment of a south inner city initiative to support long-term economic and social regeneration of the area, similar to the north east inner-city initiative launched in 2016. In 2016, the then Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, set up a north east inner city initiative in the form of a multidepartmental ministerial task force, supported by Kieran Mulvey, to engage with local community groups, business stakeholders and other representatives with a view to putting together a number of measures to address the challenges in the north inner city at that time. These included addressing the long-term social and economic regeneration of the area against the backdrop of intergenerational poverty and addiction challenges. While I note and welcome the Dublin task force put in place by the current Taoiseach to address the tourist areas of our city, I am calling for an initiative like the north inner city task force to support residential areas from Cherry Orchard to the south inner city to address the intergenerational inequalities and endemic crime that prevail against the wishes of those communities.

On 17 and 18 May, we had two shootings in close proximity to each other in Drimnagh and Bluebell. Viral footage was going around at the time of gardaí pulling out AR15 assault rifles from garden bushes in residential areas. On the same day, there was a reported stabbing in Ballyfermot on foot of a robbery and on another evening in May alone, 40 car windows were smashed on a quiet residential street in Dublin 8. Terrifying violence on our streets is a daily occurrence. People should not have to live in fear. Neighbourhoods are being rocked daily needlessly and the Government needs to step in to ensure a multidepartmental response to crime and violence in order that we can all feel safer on our streets. It is important that young people are given better opportunities away from the perceived easy life of crime. I will read through the terms of reference of the Mulvey report as they are relevant, given this is what we are looking for in the south inner city. They included short-term responses to immediate challenges facing the community and review of statutory and non-statutory structures for economic development. We had in Drimnagh a local area plan at one stage but this was never acted upon or invoked. It is something that needs to be prioritised in the different communities around the south inner city.

Collaboration with communities and business communities, as well as young people, is vital and we need to see their vision for the future of their areas. We do not need to reinvent the wheel in terms of practices; we need to look at practices and models that are working in other areas and replicate them. Most importantly, we need to recommend long-term measures in areas such as community safety and policing, early intervention and programmes for young people, education, training and employment opportunities for young people, improving the physical environments and the landscapes of these communities, housing, tackling the impact of drugs on community development and in terms of structures to ensure co-ordination between agencies and Departments. Finally, we must identify indicators to measure the progress of a ten-year period. If we do not have the statistics, we cannot see how things are improving or disimproving. I am calling for a similar proposal for the south residential city and I ask the Taoiseach to appoint a chairperson, akin to Mr. Mulvey, forthwith with a corresponding budget, as well as to gather his Ministers to tackle these issues in a cross-departmental way.

Communities are crying our for sports facilities and community amenities for their areas. The system that we have designed for sports capital programmes, however, and the distribution of funds work against communities where they do not own large tracts of land. It creates unequal opportunities for young people compared with their peers in other parts of the city. As Mr. Mulvey surmised in his report on the north inner-city, it is a community rich in assets which is not reaching its potential. When I read this, I understood that by that statement he means people. The very same can be said for residential communities in the south city. The north inner city initiative was ultimately precipitated by drug-related crime in the area. The same issues are prevalent in the south inner city with a great deal fewer resources. It is time now not to leave anyone behind.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I thank the Senator. Before I call the Minister of State, I welcome the transition year students from the Department of enterprise who are here in the Visitors Gallery. I hope they enjoy their day in the Oireachtas.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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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.

Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail)
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The task force launched by the Taoiseach in May is related to the central area of Dublin. However, my ask today relates to residential areas in the south of the city, which is some way from the city. It is very much a different space. I take the Minister of State’s point that there might be scope in the future to transfer to the south city what is being learned in the Dublin city centre task force, but we have already seen learnings in the north inner city. It is urgent that we see the creation of a south inner city task force to support communities in residential areas. We cannot wait for more children to die or to read about more shootings, stabbings or absolute mayhem on our streets with car windows being smashed. We need to act now, not just to protect tourists but to protect those living and working in the city and the kids being reared in it. We need a cross-departmental approach, similar to that taken by Mr. Mulvey. A different approach is being taken in the Dublin task force. We need the Department of Education to talk to the Department of Justice. We need to see the HSE involved. This is a big project and it is urgent. We need to see some urgency in respect of the creation of safe inner city task force. We cannot have more people being shot in our city.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for her input to this debate and the views she expressed. The north east inner city initiative was a unique approach to an extreme time of violence in the area. While much has been achieved, challenges remain. As I mentioned, the Government recognises that disadvantaged areas require new forms of assistance to help them prosper. That path lies in consolidating and integrating the State-funded and sponsored interventions already under way in these areas and making sure they are responsive to the real needs of our local communities. In addition, I think we can all agree on and welcome the focus that has been brought by the Taoiseach and the Government to bring measures forward that will rejuvenate our capital’s city centre, both north and south. As previously stated, the goal is to make the whole of Dublin city centre a more thriving, attractive and safe cityscape for people not only to visit but also to work in, live in and enjoy.

I think we can also agree on the value that David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, will bring to the role as independent chair of the task force. Over the next 12 weeks, Mr. McRedmond will lend his wealth of insights and experience as the task force carries out its work. However, that task force is only at the beginning. At the end of July, the task force will submit, for the Government’s consideration, a cohesive and focused list of recommendations it believes could galvanise actions in Dublin city centre to be the vibrant destination we know it to be.