North inner city task force
Deputy Howlin asks when the north inner city task force’s membership and terms of reference will be available and whether the House can discuss them before recess. The Taoiseach says Cabinet approved them and promises to circulate details, but cannot guarantee a debate.
I have raised twice with the Taoiseach and once with the Tánaiste the consensus in the House on the establishment of a north inner city task force. The view across the House was that the task force should be up and running before the House goes into recess. Now that a date has been set for the recess, when will the membership of the north inner city task force and its terms of reference be known to us and will we have an opportunity to comment upon it before the Dáil goes into recess? There has been much talk about publicity and media focus moving on. In that regard, the view was that we were not going to allow this to happen in relation to the north inner city and that we were going to do something exemplary for the area. I know the Taoiseach has had a lot of discussions on this matter, the fruits of which, along with the terms of reference of the task force and its membership, should now be made known to the House.
Comment on this
We approved it this morning at Cabinet, including the terms of reference and the appointment of an appropriate person to carry out an analysis of the exiting facilities that apply in the north inner city. I will forward the details to Deputy Howlin. I expect to deal with this matter tomorrow in the north inner city.
Comment on this
Will we have an opportunity to discuss this issue before the Dáil goes into recess?