The Labour Party will be supporting this motion, as it has supported similar motions at six-month intervals going back to 2021, to allow continued outdoor seating and socialising in our towns and cities. It was born out of a necessity during the Covid period but it has ushered in and accelerated a positive culture of dining and drinking in this country. I have seen at first hand the impacts of good policy when it comes to outside dining in my constituency. In Malahide, the pedestrianisation of New Street, where I have a clinic every week, has allowed businesses to thrive. It is a vibrant space for people to socialise and consume food and drink outdoors. However, we have also seen the frustration when bad policy decisions are made about outside dining, such as what we saw with Drury Street a number of weeks ago. There is still a lack of clarity and direction in relation to this matter. That is why we need to put it on a firm footing. We need to recognise and accept this positive cultural shift that we have seen around our country. We need to look at the positives of pedestrianisation and converting units from shops into apartments and improving public transport so that people living farther out from cities do not see the lack of public transport options as a barrier to travelling and enjoying these options, either in our cities or towns. In capital cities across Europe, there are places and spaces that have been built for communities. I refer, for example, to Las Ramblas in Barcelona. These are spaces designed for people to simply spend time with each other, have a drink, have a bite to eat or to just be. In Dublin, we have seen some small steps being taken, but that feeling is not yet there. We have seen some good positives in relation to the pedestrianisation of Capel Street but we have also seen the closure of really important and distinctive shops there such as Mr. Middleton's gardening shop just off Capel Street and Mr. Brenfer's darts shop. These were important shops that added to the character and characteristics of the city. In Dublin, my city, we are seeing small shops being squeezed out because Government policy seems to drive the provision and development of hotels, short-term lets, and is reefing the heart out of the city and removing communities and people who live there and replacing them with a transient tourist population and that is having an impact on businesses. In the wonderful weather we are having today, I cycled down to the Oliver Bond flat complex and spent a number of hours there with residents. The complex is very close to my heart. My father and his brother and sister were raised there by my nana and granddad. This is the largest flat complex in the country and is in need of positive regeneration. There are an awful lot of discussions about the mould, the damp and the conditions of the apartments but what is lost in the discussion is the fact that this is a community of people who live in the centre of our city. We need to ensure that these communities continue to thrive and continue to raise families in these flat complexes. These families have kept that flat complex and many others like it going, on both sides of the river, between the canals, for more than 90 years. When we talk about communities and the cherry on top of outdoor dining it is all wonderful, but it means nothing if we do not have the people to actually live, work and thrive in these areas. What I see with the motion on the 2021 legislation is an example of how the Government does not have joined-up policy in relation to thriving communities in our large towns and cities. We knew this instantly. Deputy Gannon would have also spoken on similar motions at six-month intervals. We have seen this as a positive over the past number of years, yet the Government has failed to put it on a permanent footing. It also speaks to the fact that this Government does not understand how to deliver and sustain thriving communities in our city centres or indeed in our large town centres. It goes right down to the very basics of urban regeneration and investment. It is more than what is at the bottom of an excel spreadsheet in terms of the number of units. It is not about units; it is about homes and communities. It is about communities that have sustained this city through good times and bad so that all of us who either originally come from the inner city who are now living in the suburbs but feel the call and the pull of home into the city can come here, be around our people and enjoy outdoor dining. It is about being able to go into individual distinct shops and not being surrounded by betting shops, fast-food outlets and vape shops but by shops that represent our city. Workers who live in our city, whether they were born in our city or have come here to work, should be able live and thrive in Dublin city centre. This Government does not get it. I know this is away from the point of simply looking at extending outdoor dining, which we all accept is a good thing, but it means nothing if the Government does not put on a permanent footing real regeneration and real investment in our communities. We will be supporting this motion. We cannot come in here every six months and have the same conversations. The weather outside is good today and people are outside dining, but they also dine outside in overcast weather and even rainy weather. It is where we are now. It is the modern culture of our cities and large towns, but we need much more to sustain that and for it to thrive. We need to ensure that we have policies that allow people to live and raise families for the next 90 years in the Oliver Bond flats and other complexes in other areas of the city because without that, there is no Dublin.

Sentiment score: 0.21