We would also like to acknowledge the sadness that has been felt by many families and communities in recent days.

I want to return to Thursday, 16 February, when the Taoiseach and a number of Ministers, officials and the media came to a hall in the north inner city to launch the report compiled by Mr. Kieran Mulvey. The immediate impetus for the report was a number of murders, some of which happened in the area, but all of them relating to the area.

However, there was a much longer lead-in to what was actually happening. That came about because of the neglect and indifference of many Governments to the area and to the issues there. It also came from budget cuts, as well as financial and economic policies, that adversely and disproportionately affected that area. This was especially the case for community and voluntary organisations, schools and gardaí. In addition, it concerned the way in which drugs were allowed to take hold and devastate individuals and communities. Policies to deal with that were not matched with the necessary resources to implement them. The report acknowledged all of that, including the neglect, dereliction, crime, open drug dealing and poor housing.

The report also acknowledged the area's potential and the community's solidarity. There was extensive community engagement whose driving force was the North Inner City Community Coalition. That coalition organised groups, families and individuals to come together in a number of working parties to deal with education, arts and culture, drugs, crime and sports as they affect young people. The coalition made a substantial submission and although hopes were high, the report fell short of expectations. The report was strong on what needs to be done but less so on how and when. Ironically, there was no mention of drugs, and other key areas were also left out.

As outlined in a letter to the Taoiseach, the coalition confirmed its commitment to the process but it has to bring about fundamental change. For that to happen, it needs a coherent, integrated, radical and innovative approach, and not the same talk and false promises. The voice of the community has to be heard and their concerns relate to community involvement at all levels. The ten-member board has only one community representative so that must be addressed. Following his own personal engagement there, the Taoiseach knows the wealth of experience, insight and knowledge of the people from the community. There are concerns about the timeframe for implementing the process so when will it start? There are also concerns about funding, which must be open and transparent. Committed funding should be additional, rather than money that has already been earmarked for the area.

There are also questions about the independent chair, the role of Dublin City Council, and the need for a long-term commitment regardless of who is in government. The danger is that when the meetings and consultations are over, the report will be left to gather dust. The Taoiseach indicated that he would meet the convenors. He should, therefore, name a date as soon as possible so that those areas can be addressed. That would mean that the report will have a chance to be acted upon.

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for her contributions to the overall report during the course of many discussions we had in the north inner city and here at Government Buildings. She is aware that the report presented by Mr. Kieran Mulvey is both comprehensive and inclusive. It was produced as a consequence of a great deal of discussions that took place in the north inner city. On foot of the report, quite a number of smaller projects have already commenced or are in the process of being completed.

It is also a fact that an office is to be opened in the north inner city to deal with transparency and accessibility and to be a constant reminder of the reasons why this was set up in the first place. This will also be monitored from my Department, in the same way as the action plan for jobs and such like, where reports are produced every three months so that people can see the progress being made. Rather than give the Deputy a date for such a meeting now, I will report to the House on the basis of that office being set up, the system in respect of monitoring from my Department and the independent person being appointed to work together with Dublin City Council, without whose assistance this could not have been done and for which we are very grateful. I will then advise the Deputy of an appropriate date for meeting.

I take the Deputy's point about community involvement. There are some powerful leader personalities in the north inner city. They are all focused on doing the very best for their communities and the general area. That is why it is important that the report is not just left lying there but that it is implemented in a transparent, accountable way so that the people can see the opportunities and facilities being provided. As one young man said on the presentation of the report, one's background or the location where one was born should never be an obstacle or a prohibition to getting a job. Is that not what this is about?

I again thank the Deputy for her contribution.

I am disappointed in that answer because I believe the meeting with the conveners has to take place first. Otherwise, it will be the statutory players who will be giving their decisions about an area when it is the community voice that knows exactly what needs to happen there. This is not just about the north inner city, it can be a template and a framework for other areas, in Dublin and outside it, that are facing similar issues.

I have two final points. We know how important jobs are yet the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is not a member of the ministerial task force. At this moment, An Bord Pleanála is hearing an application for planning permission in regard to the Clerys site. This is an opportunity to lay down a marker, that any development of that kind should have a community or social clause in it that will provide community gain and that there will be an aspect regarding local employment and training. That is recommended on page 35 of the report. If it continues as the Taoiseach has outlined, the community will not be satisfied with being told what is best for it by statutory people. It knows what is best for it. I would urge the Taoiseach to have that meeting with the conveners as soon as possible.

The report was produced based on contributions from the community itself, both at meetings in the north inner city in direct discussion with Kieran Mulvey when he was preparing the report, and in its own evidence given to me in Government Buildings on a number of occasions. I would remind Deputy O'Sullivan that in respect of housing, which she mentioned, the north and south inner city housing plans include €30 million for the regeneration of Dominick Street and €27 million for the regeneration of St. Teresa's Gardens. There is also the new multi-million euro plan to develop O'Devaney gardens and a lot of other support for investment in community supports and housing.

The setting up of an office in the north inner city is not about having statutory people removed from the community. It is for the community to be in there, to be involved and to ask what is happening with project X or project Y in their location so that everybody understands that both the moneys that are being continued and the new moneys that are being invested are for regeneration for the people of the area and that it is not just a case of outsiders moving in and telling the community to do this or that.

All aspects of this report came from people in that locality themselves. They said that this was what they wanted for their area and asked how best they could implement it. It is under way. I will meet them but I want to have the office set up and I want to have the system in place. Then we can talk about possible greater community representation but believe me, the consultation and the opportunity for community involvement will be there on a constant basis because there will be an office in the north inner city.