12. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if his Department could help support the Dublin city task force recommendation for a meanwhile-use strategy for privately owned lands in Dublin city centre to utilise the city’s vacant space for musical, artistic and cultural events, artists workspaces, community spaces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10058/25]

Sentiment score: 0.22

I wish to ask the Minister if his Department could support the Dublin city task force recommendation for a meanwhile-use strategy for privately owned lands in Dublin city centre to utilise the city's vacant space for musical, artistic and cultural events, artists' workspaces, community spaces, and if he will make a statement.

Sentiment score: 0.66

I thank the Minister, and I wish him well in his brief as well. I thank him for his reply. It is very encouraging to see both the alignment of the existing night-time strategy with the recommendations that were already in the Dublin city task force, and the emphasis that both the Minister and the Department have placed on the use of meanwhile-use strategies. Ultimately, when we talk about the challenges in Dublin city around safety and security, it is not just a policing problem. Yes, we need more gardaí on our streets. Yes, we need more arrests, detections and prosecutions but everybody who works and lives in the city, and everyone who visits the city, recognises that the challenges for Dublin city are much greater than simply a justice problem. A big element of this is about giving people good reasons to come into the city. A huge part of the cultural offering that Dublin can offer could be delivered through an aggressive meanwhile-use strategy, in particular by imposing on private landlords to use their vacant buildings for cultural uses.

Sentiment score: 0.54

One of the biggest examples of that would be the GPO itself. The task force report includes a recommendation that by the end of the first quarter of this year, decisions will be made on what use the GPO will be put to. More than 800 people used to work in that place. When they left that place, that reduced the number of people coming into an area of our city that has proven to be the most challenging when it comes to antisocial behaviour and crime. It is such an historic and beautiful building. There are so many uses that it could be put to. Yes, people from the Civil Service could be redeployed into that building, but there are some bigger ideas too, not least having elements of RTÉ or other museums move into that building. Does the Minister have his own thoughts as to how the GPO could be put to best use?

Sentiment score: 0.14