Press release
Taoiseach launches 2022 North East Inner City Progress Report
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
Today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin joined Michael Stone, Chairman of the North East Inner City Programme Implementation Board, to launch the North East Inner City Initiative’s 2022 Progress Report.
The North East Inner City (NEIC) Initiative commenced in July 2016, when Government launched a major initiative for Dublin's North East Inner City to oversee the long-term social and economic regeneration of the area. This work is led by the NEIC Programme Implementation Board (PIB) and its Subgroups involving key government departments and agencies working closely with community representatives.
Since 2016, the government has invested over €38.2 million under the Initiative which has achieved significant progress in enhancing the lives of people living and working in Dublin’s North East Inner City.
This is the sixth Progress Report on the NEIC Initiative and it sets out the extensive work undertaken by the Programme Implementation Board in 2022 and sets out priorities for 2023.
Speaking at Hill Street Family Resource Centre, the Taoiseach remarked:
"I am delighted to mark significant progress in our vision for the North East Inner City as a safe, attractive and vibrant living and working environment.
"In July, I was delighted to officially reopen Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station which is the first community policing station of its kind in the country.
"In addition, the redevelopment of the Magdalene Laundry site will be of great benefit to the area encompassing: a National Centre for Research and Remembrance; social housing and a range of facilities for the local community.
"Its development will place the NEIC, once again, at the forefront of a unique, progressive project that the whole community can be proud of for decades to come."
Speaking on community safety, which is a key priority for the Board, Michael Stone, Independent Chairperson of the NEIC Initiative stated:
"We are all working towards a legacy of enduring safety for local communities by tackling the drug dealing, criminality and anti-social behaviour.
"The Gardaí, however, cannot do this alone. These issues require inter-agency and community collaboration. In that spirit, one of the new initiatives we supported this year was the establishment of a ‘Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery’ team for the NEIC area.
"This team, through a multi-agency approach, is supporting people with complex and multiple needs such as addiction and mental health difficulties to engage with support services, often for the first time."
Some highlights from the 2022 Progress Report include:
The North East Inner City Initiative commenced in July 2016, when the government launched a major initiative for Dublin's North East Inner City to oversee the long-term social and economic regeneration of the area.
To support the work of the Initiative, Mr Kieran Mulvey was appointed to engage with the local community groups, representatives and other interests, and to report back with specific recommendations.
The Mulvey Report ‘Creating a Brighter Future’ was published in February 2017 and was the output of consultation with an extensive group of stakeholders representing the area. The Mulvey Report was written in response to the underlying socio-economic problems in the area and the ongoing feud.
The Mulvey Report outlined the drivers for change and presented a clear vision for the future of the North East Inner City. The Mulvey Report recommended a number of new structures and appointments to lead this work.
The report led to the establishment of the North East Inner City Programme Implementation Board and Subgroups, and a set of recommendations to address current and future social and economic challenges in the North East Inner City.
Members of the Programme Implementation Board include representatives from relevant government departments and agencies, business and the local community.
There are six Subgroups working on the following issues:
The Mulvey Report has been further supplemented by the NEIC Strategic Plan 2020 – 2022. In light of the difficulties experienced during the pandemic, the Programme Implementation Board recently took the decision to refresh and extend the Strategic Plan by a further year to end 2023.