Urban Development
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-15
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Peadar Tóibín (AON), Meath West

Lonely Planet. It did a review of Dublin and stated, "Once Dublin’s grand boulevard, O'Connell St has struggled with decline". It stated that vacant buildings, derelict upper floors and long-stalled redevelopments leave this part looking neglected while retail has shifted elsewhere and been replaced by fast food shops that dilute its character. Moore Street, right beside it, was promised to be redeveloped by 2016, and here we are ten years later. It is a site of drinking, drug-taking, urination and defecation. It is part of the national monuments battlefield sites. Is there a move by the Government to buy Moore Street from Hammerson in a similar fashion to how it bought the Carlton site on O'Connell Street? That is my first question.
My second question is about Cork. Cork is now one of the most congested cities in the world. A global study by TomTom indicated that it is the 38th most congested city globally, behind cities such as London, Toronto and Rome. The task force indicated that the Cork Luas system would be built. That Luas system is in planning and that planning is taking a long while. Can the Taoiseach give an update on when exactly the Cork Luas system will be built so that people can actually get around the city of Cork in a timely fashion?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-15