Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-21
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Roderic O'Gorman (GP), Dublin West

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. At Cabinet today I understand the Government approved Robert Watt to head the special purpose vehicle, SPV, charged with addressing dereliction in Dublin city centre. His appointment comes a full 18 months after the report of the Dublin city task force was published but, helpfully, 24 hours before the writ is moved for the Dublin Central by-election. The task force report proposed a set of ten recommendations, or ten big moves, for the city. Tackling vacancy and dereliction and bringing abandoned sites in the city centre back to productive use is one of those big moves. City council officials have told councillors that the special purpose vehicle Robert Watt will head up will lead on the vacancy and dereliction work and will have another role in one of the other recommendations, namely revitalising O'Connell Street and the surrounding areas. Two of the recommendations, therefore, are being led by the SPV.
I want to ask the Taoiseach about some of the other recommendations. What of the recommendation for a total regeneration of social housing complexes in the city centre, giving tenants warmer homes and protecting them from the worst of the next energy crisis? What about the recommendation to deliver better and more localised services for vulnerable populations? What about the recommendation to provide an additional 1,000 gardaí across the city centre area? I cannot say the Government is doing nothing about that last recommendation. The Dublin Inquirer reported that in the 18 months since the report was published, 40 extra gardaí have been appointed across the two city centre districts. On that trajectory, those additional 1,000 gardaí will be provided some time in mid-2063.
I have been out canvassing across Dublin Central with our candidate, Councillor Janet Horner. The lack of Garda presence and the sense that low- to mid-level antisocial behaviour is now just tolerated are prevalent across all communities. The task force report itself sets out that a total of €750 million to €1 billion in extra investment is necessary to deliver all ten big moves.
As the voters of Dublin Central put their attention to the by-election, I have three questions for the Taoiseach. When will the large-scale regeneration of social housing begin? Is the Government still committed to the additional 1,000 gardaí, and when will they be delivered by? How much additional spending - I am speaking about additional spending - has been provided to date to implement the task force's ten recommendations?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21