Remarks by President McAleese at the launch of the Vision Document for the Regeneration of Moyross
Remarks by President McAleese at the launch of the Vision Document for the Regeneration of Moyross
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Tá an-áthas orm bheith i bhur measc anseo ar an ócáid speisialta seo. Míle bhuíochas díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom.
Thank you very much for the welcome invitation to join you on this special, even historic, morning in Moyross when this community looks with hope to a significantly better future and launches its well considered pathway to that future.
Today we launch the Vision Document for the regeneration of Moyross, setting the scene for a radical break from the past when the words in this report, the words and hopes of the people of Moyross move from the page and into action.
This entire project has its roots in work done by John Fitzgerald in late 2006 and early 2007 which culminated in his report to the Government, ‘Addressing issues of Social Exclusion in Moyross and other disadvantaged areas of Limerick City’. John’s hard-hitting report painted a stark picture of the grim reality of life for the residents of Moyross but it also offered a way to a future that people could look forward to.
It was good to see a swift acceptance by Government of the Fitzgerald Report’s recommendations. It was good to see swift action by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to establish the Limerick Northside Regeneration Agency. It was good to see key Government departments, local authorities, and other bodies - and most especially local people - readily accept invitations to serve on the Board of the Agency.
But it was great to see the community embracing the opportunities afforded to it to participate with the Agency in drawing up this new vision, their very own new vision for Moyross, for this report comes out of considerable local consultation and its success depends on local ownership of the vision. When it says ‘Our Community, Our Vision, Our Future’, that is exactly what it means. Today the local and national radio and television news and tomorrow’s newspapers will carry welcome headlines about this report, about Moyross, about its people and its plan for Moyross in the coming times. Today the work of thinking and planning regeneration gives way to the work of achieving regeneration.
It is going to be a very challenging time but out of it will come a massive, physical transformation of the visible landscape and - just as important - a resurgence of the internal landscape of hope, pride, confidence and peace of mind.
The people of Moyross know how draining and depressing it is to feel excluded, forgotten, left-out, to watch a culture of anti-social behaviour grip their streets and prey on young and old alike, to grow cynical about the agencies that are supposed to help citizens, to come close to giving up all hope of a normal life.
But there is an impulse in the human spirit that simply never surrenders and the people of Moyross have distilled their suffering into a strong-willed passion for change and a determination that it is going to happen. Over many very tough years some of the most selfless people in Ireland worked tirelessly for this community. In the ten Gaisce gold medal award-winners from Moyross; in the forty-two other Gaisce award-winners; in all those who supported them; in this very Community Enterprise Centre, the light of hope refused to be extinguished and it is very appropriate that it is here today we all set out on this journey of hope together, in partnership, in solidarity as citizens of a republic dedicated to exalting the dignity of each human being. Our country will not know its truest potential until the potential of Moyross has been revealed and realised.
Already there is a new mood, a fresh atmosphere on the streets of Moyross. The staff of the Limerick Northside Regeneration Agency, working on behalf of the people of Moyross, have been met with a wave of welcome and courtesy. One of the greatest casualties of modern life generally has been the decline of simple courtesy and yet it is one of the greatest resources we have in making life pleasant, tolerable and supportive for one another. It releases generosity, encourages partnership and allows us to play our part as members of a united and caring community rather than a bunch of brooding strangers passing each other by at a distance.
In a very short time, Moyross is going to be a national example of what that spirit of courtesy, generosity and community can achieve when it focuses on breaking with an unhappy and unpleasant past and takes a firm step towards the radical change needed to create the best future possible for the children, the women and the men of Moyross.
Today is about a community taking charge of its own destiny. Today is about a community saying we’re done with the past, we’re not doing it again, and the future is going to be very different. We are privileged to live in an Ireland which has seen amazing progress in terms of building peace and building prosperity for the country as a whole. It is time that that spirit of transforming change was felt in Moyross. A huge start is being made today with the launch of this Vision Document. But since what is involved here is a challenge and responsibility, not just for the community in Moyross but for all of us in Irish society, our pledge, society’s pledge today, must be to learn from our failures and support this, and other communities, as they turn their vision into full reality.
When we look back on today’s launch - and I promise you today, I will remain engaged - I hope that the community will take pride in the progress that has already been made, and be confident that more, much more, is yet to come. I know that I will.