Just opened the Grangegorman Development report on submissions from the public to the Draft Strategic plan for Grangegorman. There were over 54 submissions and the document is going to make some light bed time reading – not ! Anyway I will need to find some time to get through it before the board meeting n Wednesday when I will meet for the first time the new CEO Michael Hand. It is important that we have a strong chief executive joining the agency at this critical juncture. Once the board reviews and amends the strategic plan it will be published on the Grangegorman Development Authority website www.ggda.ie. Then we will move into the planning process, whereby the Agency will submit a draft planning scheme to Dublin City Council for consideration. On another positive note, the GDA have recently awarded two contracts to Hegarty Demolition Ltd. following two separate tendering processes. They are for the refurbishment of a small disused building onsite to be used as a temporary sports changing facility and for the completion of the enabling works on the Mental Health Replacement facility site. A meeting will be arranged by the agency for local residents to meet with the contactor so they know what to expect and to provide them with a point of contact during the works.

Protection of Retail Workers Bill
In April 2025 Mary introduced the Protection of Retail Workers Act 2025, a Bill aimed at amending the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 to create specific offences for assaulting, threatening, harassing, or abusing retail workers while they are carrying out their employment. Retail workers across Ireland are on the