An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-26
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Mary Fitzpatrick (FF), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I congratulate everybody in the north inner city of Dublin. This week, they welcomed the Taoiseach to St. Agatha’s Hall for the launch of the ninth annual north east inner city, NEIC, initiative progress report. The NEIC task force was established in 2016 and since then it has worked under the leadership of the Taoiseach's office. Dublin City Council has a dedicated NEIC task force office working with residents, schools, sports clubs and all of the organisations and businesses in the area to make it a healthier and brighter place for us all to live in. Great progress continues to be made there.
I want to call out, in particular, the expansion of the City Connects programme. This is a really innovative programme that was put in place to support young people in the school environment. It is a pilot programme that has been running now for a number of years and most recently, in 2025, it was expanded beyond primary and into post-primary level. The programme supports every young person in the ten designated primary schools, and now in the secondary schools, and ensures that their needs are met so that they can engage in education. There are three stages to it. There is an assessment, obviously with parental consent, of every individual child's needs, be they educational, social or emotional. Then a plan is put in place and there is an assessment. It is a great programme and I congratulate everyone involved. I also want to mention the P-TECH programme, the pathways to technology programme that is running in the secondary schools. Last year, 80 students graduated with a level 6 qualification, so well done to everybody involved. It is really great news. The residents' associations that are involved are really helping with the greening of the area and with cultural activities. The NEIC is a great news story.
I also want to welcome finally, after decades of campaigning, the Government's announcement of the move to construction of the national monument at 14-17 Moore Street. This will create for the first time a 1916 commemorative centre, which is so important. Those buildings were the last meeting place of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. They are on what was a battlefield site and the monument is going to preserve for future generations the history of the birthplace of our Republic. It is also going to commemorate and ensure that the legacy of the street traders, and of Moore Street as a trading street, is preserved and accessible for everyone. It is moving to the stage of a contractor being appointed and then construction will commence. This is a great news story for all of the relatives, all of the traders and everybody who has campaigned not just to save 14-17 Moore Street but to ensure there is an appropriate commemorative centre there, which is what we will have.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-26