As the Tánaiste is a proud Corkonian, I am a very proud Dubliner. It irked me this week when I heard him refer to the fact that several of our cities are unsafe. It is not that I disagree, because there is a perception of unsafety. However, as leader of Fianna Fáil and a member of Cabinet, does he accept responsibility for the decline in our capital city? We have seen our policing numbers fall. We have seen dereliction blight our streetscapes. All the while throughout this term I have asked for some action. We got a document with recommendations but no budget. What culpability does the Tánaiste accept for the fact that our city is in a little bit of decline, and needs investment and State intervention?

Generally speaking, when talking to people we find they do not feel as safe in urban environments, particularly at night, as they once would have. Many factors are responsible for that in cities and in towns across the country. Obviously, Covid interrupted training in Templemore and recruitment of gardaí and we would have loved to have recruited more gardaí. There are also other factors in terms of how cities will develop into the future. We need a much stronger residential footprint in cities now than was the case historically. Cities are changing in terms of the old anchor model with big department stores and so on. There is a lot of change going on. We need to invest in the public realm as we have. I just mentioned €170 million for the North Quays in Waterford. All of that will help in terms of a better public realm and better safety.

That is not in Dublin.

I am talking about cities in general; the Deputy mentioned cities in general. Of course, I work most, if not all, of the week here in Dublin. I have a great affection for Dublin. I like Dublin and I walk a lot around Dublin. The task force report has been produced and the city council has resources. The various local authorities around Dublin have substantial resources. We will continue to provide more. When the Deputy will look at our manifesto, we have significant funding for Dublin in that regard.