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Dáil
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Baggot Street hospital site

Summary

Deputy Andrews urged that Baggot Street hospital, vacant since 2019, be used for community purposes and not sold privately. The Taoiseach said he would look at it, while also answering the fuel and retired workers points raised earlier.

Baggot Street hospital has been closed since 2019 and is steadily sliding into dereliction. The windows are boarded up and tiles are falling off the roof. Given the homeless emergency, will the Taoiseach intervene to ensure that this magnificent building is used for community purposes instead of being sold off to private investors?

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I think I dealt with Deputy Danny Healy-Rae's question when I responded to his colleague, Deputy O'Donoghue, earlier in terms of the Government needing revenue to spend on services and to improve all those roads in Kerry that Deputy Danny Healy-Rae has so consistently articulated for. For improvements to the roads and so on-----

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What about the people on those roads?

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-----one needs revenue to do that now and again.

Deputy Bríd Smith raised the issue of the retired workers Bill. I will come back to her on that specifically.

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Next Thursday will be a year on.

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I know, but I do not have the details to hand today.

Regarding the issue raised by Deputy Dillon, we can look at that. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, can look at it. Six years was originally a concession at the time. I would have been involved in introducing it under the job initiative and the community employment scheme. We can look at that.

Regarding the issue raised by Deputy Andrews, my understanding - I might be wrong - is that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, had his eye on that in terms of emergency housing needs or was looking at the building in terms of the Ukrainian situation and whether it could be refurbished for that purpose.

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That concludes questions on policy or legislation. We are running 25 minutes over time because, for the most part, neither the questions nor the answers stayed within the time limits.

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