Urban Development
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-20
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

Deputy Séamus McGrath raised the issue of a task force for Cork city, as did Deputies Pádraig O'Sullivan and Thomas Gould. First of all, we have not been awaiting the establishment of the task force in respect of investment in Cork city. The most significant investment recently was the up to €90 million announced for the Crawford Gallery, which is a national institution. It is very substantial and will transform that aspect of the city centre. The refurbishment of the Shandon area, for example, has received very significant multi-million funding. Most recently, it was announced that the Tyndall national research institute, which is vital for inward investment, has been allocated well over €100 million by the Government. This is really setting the future solid for the Cork area and region and, indeed, nationally in respect of the area of semi-conductor research, photonics and other vital areas, such as frontier technologies, which will bring in further investment.
Of course there is also the investment in the universities, MTU and UCC. Above and beyond anything else, Cork city is an education city and continued investment in education will be there. As I said, there is a meeting this week with the CEO. I hope we conclude that work and, in the next two to three weeks, we go to the Government and we establish the group, which will focus on the city centre.
The visibility of the gardaí has improved very significantly with the recent out-take from Templemore which saw up to 30 gardaí appointed. We saw over Christmas, just as we saw in Dublin city, the impact of greater visibility of gardaí on the street in terms of confidence in security in the city centres. Many traders and citizens have articulated the psychological impact alone of that visibility. That presence, both in Dublin city and in Cork city, cannot be overstated.
Regarding the events centre, Cork corporation is overseeing the tender processes for that and is making progress. Because of the way that had escalated, it needed to go out to tender in a proper, formal way that is legally watertight and so on. That simply had to happen.
Deputies Séamus McGrath and Pádraig O'Sullivan were focusing on the city centre itself. We have to look at residential and we have to look at commercial. It is a different type of city into the future. The living cities initiative applies to Dublin, Cork, Galway and others. The Revenue Commissioners will be engaging with the councils to make sure they can get the proper maps. We have dramatically changed the impact of that initiative now. The older one was very limited and restrictive to pre-1915 buildings. Good sizeable grants are available for development over shops, and there is no date in terms of the building. Likewise for residential, we are looking at up to 1975 now, so there are opportunities in terms of some of the buildings in the cities and the extended areas that were captured and outlined in the budget.
The Railyard project will be the tallest building in the country, with social housing and cost rental. It is a significant development in the core of the city but also pointing to the docklands. The investment in the docklands has been very significant so far. In the areas north and south of the River Lee, the LDA is doing good work with the city council. This is a good example of how State agencies working together can deliver a lot. Iarnród Éireann has also been very facilitative. I remind Deputy Gould that the Kent Station transformation reflects very significant investment in infrastructure in the region. The key thing with the light rail project is to get the route selection finalised and then to get it started.
Deputy Ardagh raised the south-west inner-city area of Dublin - the Liberties and so on - in terms of security, policing, community confidence and transport policing, which I accept is a significant issue. I believe that a greater investment in amenities, such as playing facilities, is an absolute imperative in those parts of Dublin. Dublin City Council needs to really work hard at that. Other councils across Dublin need to work particularly hard - and, I would argue, more effectively - to provide facilities for clubs and communities in the sporting area. When we compare Dublin to other parts of the country, we see different models outside of Dublin which are far more widespread and more effective in terms of councils leasing land to clubs and so on. It is something that has struck me in terms of how Dublin is organised for playing amenities and playing facilities more generally. Policing will improve as we continue to have more recruits coming out of Templemore, which is producing a significant number of graduates on a very regular basis.
I hear what Deputy Brabazon said about Dublin regarding policing and the improved presence of gardaí. Clearly, that is something we are working on in dealing with antisocial behaviour. I hear what he has said about the north Dublin suburbs. For the moment we have to work on the city task force and its implementation.
Deputy Heneghan raised the issue of the NTA and BusConnects. We cannot get into the specifics of every route here, but nonetheless there is an obligation on the NTA to work with public representatives and the communities to make sure that the service is people-centric and that those who are infirm or senior, in particular, are looked after in respect of bus routes.
Deputy McDonald spoke about facilities on the ground, be they arts facilities or playing facilities.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-20