Of course, we will support this motion as we supported the extension the numerous times it was brought to us before. I again say what many Members, including Deputy Smith, just said, namely, that we cannot keep coming here repeatedly as we have done over the last number years, doing the same thing and being told this will be the last time. Everybody agrees this should be permanent. Why are we still extending it every six months? We all agree that outdoor dining works. Those in opposition, in government, councillors in our local authorities, the businesses and the people of Dublin agree that it works. We should not have to come back here again in six months’ time. Outdoor dining and outdoor social spaces are no longer a Covid-era response. They have become part of how people experience Dublin and cities across Ireland. I acknowledge that legislation is progressing to put these arrangements on a permanent footing. That is welcome but it is long overdue. In the meantime, uncertainty remains. Businesses remain unsure and temporary arrangements keep temporary thinking in place. In my previous speeches on this matter, I have spoken about Drury Street. I mentioned walking through it on summer evenings and seeing something Dublin 2 rarely gives itself, that being, permission to relax, to be social, to be alive in our own city - not people rushing through a city but people actually just sitting there inhabiting it. In recent weeks, Ciss Maddens had its outdoor seating licence revoked and then within in a matter of weeks the outdoor area was back again after the licence was renewed. I am not speaking to the merits of that individual decision because there may be valid concerns around access, pedestrianised flow or public space management potentially. Of course, those concerns matter, but what struck me was something bigger. One week a popular outdoor space that contributed to the atmosphere of the area was removed, then two weeks later after public pressure, it was put back in. What does that say to businesses? What does that say to the people trying to invest in our streets? What does that say to anyone trying to imagine a longer term future for Dublin city centre? It just speaks of uncertainty and that nobody is really in charge. It says we have still not decided whether we actually believe in this model or whether we are merely just tolerating it. If we believe outdoor social spaces are part of a modern capital city, policy needs to reflect that belief consistently. Joined-up thinking matters. We cannot on one hand praise vibrancy, the night-time economy, footfall and city centre renewal, and then on the other hand leave the framework around all of that feeling temporary and feeling fragile. This goes well beyond one pub or one street. The first time I spoke on these extensions, I mentioned Talbot Street, Henry Street and other areas north of the river that deserve exactly the same imagination and confidence that is shown elsewhere. I asked people then to imagine Talbot Street on a warm evening with outdoor seating, better public realm, colour, activity and life spilling onto the street, and to imagine Henry Street as somewhere people stayed rather than simply passed through. What always strikes me when I walk down Henry Street is that everybody is moving; there is no place to simply sit. That is an anomaly on a main street in a capital city. People should be able to just sit and relax. I am not saying the same thing again today because they are just as relevant, not because it is difficult, not because it is impossible, but because nothing meaningful has actually happened. After enough years pass, some things stop looking like failures and just start looking like choices. A city centre does not become vibrant by accident. Streets do not redesign themselves. Public spaces do not improve through aspiration alone. Government chooses where urgency goes. Government chooses where funding goes. Government chooses whether reports like the report of the Dublin city task force just gather dust or whether recommendations become reality. The frustrating thing about all this is that Dublin is already showing what works. Capel Street has shown what works, parts of Drury Street have shown it works and the people themselves have shown what works. Young people especially have shown something important. Every summer we hear concerns that there are not enough places to gather, not enough affordable ways to simply exist socially in the city. When people find those spaces organically, the State seems surprised about it. Outdoor dining and seating were never only about hospitality. They are about civic life, about allowing people to enjoy cities rather than merely moving through them, about creating places that feel welcoming and about recognising that a successful city is not measured only by commercial activity but by what people want to spend their time doing there. That is the bigger opportunity here. We will support the extension today but I genuinely hope it is the last time we have to discuss another six-month continuation of something everyone already accepts should be permanent. In November, we were told it would be the last time. Eventually, repeating temporary measures stops looking like being cautious and just starts looking like indecision. Even more, it looks like nobody is in charge. Dublin in particular, although I am sure the same can be said of everywhere else around the country, cannot afford more indecision. It cannot afford more Ministers going to the GPO announcing task forces whose reports just sit on shelves. We need ambition and that ambition can and should extend beyond simple outdoor dining. That ambition should extend to over-the-shop living, for example. How can we get people living more in the city centre above the shops on Henry Street, Grafton Street and O'Connell Street? These suggestions have been made for 20 years in various different reports and every time the suggestion is made, somebody says it seems like a good idea, but all the factors needed to implement that good idea just get left on the shelf because there may be some legislative difficulties or some resourcing required. That is all fine but where we fall down is in imagination, leadership and a genuine passion for Dublin. We can talk about outdoor dining and over-the-shop living but that cannot be separated from simple things like waste collection. In my area of Stoneybatter, outdoor dining took hold from places like Ray’s and Slice, with people sitting out there enjoying the community. In the last couple of weeks, I have got notifications that the waste management service is to be changed and bins are to be placed along every single house on the road. That speaks of an absence of joined-up thinking and an absence of a genuine vision not only for city centres but for the communities that inhabit them. The Dublin task force actually had some good recommendations. One of the more frustrating aspects of my time here is that good intention falls down when there is actually no follow-through, with nobody to take charge and be in control of these things. The city is the lesser for it because Dublin and, I am sure, all the other cities in Ireland have enormous potential, but when there are so many different agencies, so many people saying it is not their job and so many people saying that it is the responsibility of X, all of these things start to look shabby and lacking imagination. We will support this extension today as we did six months ago and six months before that. What I would like to support in the future is not just a genuine vision for Dublin but the capacity to deliver upon it.

Sentiment score: 0.10