Dublin 8 is a magnificent place of history. It is where I live. I am very proud to live there and am extremely proud to represent the area. There are so many places in Dublin 8 that tourists come to visit, including St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christchurch, Kilmainham Gaol, the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, IMMA, the Guinness Storehouse, Dublinia, Marsh's Library, the Liberties and the National War Memorial Gardens. I could go on because there are loads of them. We are really lucky but not every part of the history of the Liberties has been preserved. These include places like Kilmainham Mill which is centuries old. It was brought to a certain standard but it has not been completed. People can go and look at it but it is not functional. I happen to know the person who is a descendant of the people who owned that mill. It is a crying shame. That is not the only place where there is a difficulty. Newmarket was a thriving market for years. A requirement, as part of the planning permission for one of the buildings in the regeneration or redesign of the area, was that a market be provided in that space. The applicant agreed to that and said anyone can use Newmarket as a market space for €67,000 per year. That is totally unacceptable. I want to know what will be done to make sure a market returns to Newmarket. I have been asking that question of the Department for a very long time and I have been given the wrong answer. I am still asking for an answer to that question. I would really appreciate if the Minister brought it back to the Department. The Iveagh Market lay derelict and in bits for decades. It has been brought back up to a certain standard that meets health and safety requirements. What is going to happen with it afterwards? Can we not be like other European countries, or even like Cork? I went down to the English Market recently. We need that in Dublin. It is such a magnificent thing to have, not only for tourists but for the people who live there. The Liberties is renowned for weaving. The Liberties Weavers were born from that whole tradition of weavers we have in our community. The group meets but it does not have a permanent place. We certainly have enough spaces to be able to provide for those people who are doing amazing work. It is fantastic. The Tivoli Theatre was torn down. Anyone who went to the panto at Christmas or to any of the many different events in the Tivoli will sadly miss it. That space is now about as undramatic and uninspiring as a place can be. It is absolutely disastrous. It is an affront to people like me who live in the area, and to the people who came to the area to go to the theatre, to see what has been left in its place. Some of the places I have mentioned are in Dublin Bay South and I do not want to rob anybody from Dublin Bay South of their places but in Dublin South-Central, in a very short time, we have seen many more hotels being built, more short-term lets and more student accommodation. We do not need more hotels in Dublin 8, we do not need more short-term lets and we definitely do not need more student accommodation. We need to have a city where people who live there are the ones who are able to enjoy markets, venues, theatre, going out and being with our neighbours. It is not all just about tourists; it is also for the people who live here.

Sentiment score: 0.11