Defence Forces and Dublin planning
Senator McDowell jokingly reflected on the Leader's remarks to Senator Craughwell, then responded to Ardagh's points by arguing Dublin needs proper urban renewal and an agency for regeneration rather than relying on Dublin City Council. He warned against sacrificing public open spaces and cited Ballymun as an example of failed regeneration.
Arising out of the Leader's remarks to Senator Craughwell about who he might suggest might take the initiative in Defence Forces reform, as I understand it Senator Craughwell is taking the first steps to become, under the Constitution, Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces.
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Do I feel a nomination coming on?
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As to what Senator Ardagh was saying about the projected increase in population of 1.1 million by 2030, the Senator also raised the need for physical planning to accommodate that. In particular, the Senator refers to local authorities having to get their act together. I merely wanted to raise the recent remarks of the Dublin city manager to the effect that public open spaces are to be the first target-----
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-----in supplying land for redevelopment of Dublin. This shows me that there is not an understanding at all.
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What is needed for Dublin is an agency for urban renewal. I have said this before in this House and I say it again. One cannot rely on Dublin City Council which, by the way, is the proprietor of most of the worst areas of dereliction-----
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-----and neglect in this country, and which is demolishing half of its own estate now because of dereliction and poor management, to be the motor of Dublin urban renewal. I ask the Members of this House to go and look at Ballymun after its so-called regeneration. It is a bleak place. It is no more a community now than it ever was in the past.
If one wants to regenerate cities, one must build to a greater density.
If we are to build to a greater density, attacking public open spaces is the wrong thing to do. Private enterprise and local authorities cannot regenerate Dublin adequately. There must be a specific agency tasked with that function and it must have powers to compulsorily acquire private property and regenerate precincts, streets and the like according to plans. This is not novel. It was done in the 18th and 19th centuries by the Wide Streets Commission. It is time we returned to decent urban planning in Dublin and abandoned the low hanging fruit of soft options that are irrelevant in the context of what Dublin needs.