The Tánaiste’s admission that members of the Cabinet have yet to see the completed Dublin City Taskforce report has been described as an extraordinary abdication of responsibility by Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon.
Deputy Gannon, who is a TD for Dublin Central, said:
“When I questioned the Tánaiste in the Dáil, he responded that the media seemed to know more about the report’s recommendations than he or the Cabinet did.
“Even more worrying, when I asked if a budget and timeline for solutions to the city centre’s problems were included in the report, he said its findings would serve as ‘a catalyst for debate’.
“After almost six months of work, the taskforce report only appears to offer vague, uncosted measures on broad issues like housing and culture – and even contains the frankly ridiculous notion that RTÉ could relocate from Donnybrook to the GPO on O’Connell Street.
“Frustratingly, none of the plans, if you can even call them that, have been costed or budgeted for.
“With the Government now in its dying days, this vacuous report seems timed to score political points for the Taoiseach and Fine Gael instead of resulting in real action to rejuvenate our city or make it safer.
“It is clear now that there was never any genuine intention by this Government to make the inner city a safer, cleaner, more liveable place.
“Six months of work cannot only result in further debate. Public money should not be used to fund projects that only serve as virtue signals for a Government looking to secure another term.
“Just like with the Leinster House bike shed, security hut and the National Children’s Hospital, exchequer monies have once again been spent in an inappropriate manner, leaving Dubliners shortchanged.
“The Taoiseach must now reveal how much this latest in a long line of reports on solving Dublin’s problems has cost the taxpayer.”
October 18, 2024