If the phenomenon of the "Tiger Economy" is here to stay, the next task facing Ireland is the elimination of localised disadvantage and deprivation. Could there be a clearer metaphor for the challenge than the question of what we do with Ballymun? There is a sense of historical inevitability about the planned demolition of the tower blocks. When they were built in 1966, the towers were intended as a confident symbol of a new Ireland where citizens - irrespective of their means - could be offered high quality housing. At the time, similar high rise blocks were de rigeur in Britain and on the continent. The Ballymun complex seemed to underpin the modernisation of Ireland, the drift away from the land towards a modern urban society.
The reality of life in Ballymun turned out to be tragically otherwise. Minor fractures began to appear in the wall panels of the tower blocks only six years after their construction and the repair bills began to rise. But the physical flaws in the blocks were not the most serious problem. The quality of life in Ballymun never approached the pre construction hyperbole; the wide range of social and sporting amenities which had been promised did not materialise. Today, conditions in the Ballymun complex represent a shameful counterpoint; to the euphoria about the economy. Ballymun is a bleak, windswept place with a gloomy, underdeveloped shopping centre and little in the way of basic amenities. It is among the State's most disadvantaged areas with an unemployment rate hovering around 50 percent its people are also struggling to cope with serious crime and drugs problems.
In announcing Ballymun's Brave New World last week, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, could hardly have been more positive. The Government had approved what he termed "the most important piece of urban regeneration in 30 years" with the avowed intention of transforming Ballymun into a "model town for the 21st century". For those with long memories, the tone and content of his remarks seemed strikingly similar to those voiced by Government ministers when the Ballymun project was launched over 30 years ago.
The challenge now is to ensure that the many mistakes made in the management of Ballymun over the past three decades are not repeated. Mr Howlin's plan to involve the local community in the strategic plan for the area is a welcome starting point but no more than this. This time round, the government must follow through on its plans to provide proper amenities. State of the art sports and leisure facilities were, quite properly, provided for the students and staff at Dublin City University (DCU), when it located nearby. Why should similar facilities be denied to the people of Ballymun?
But real, sustainable change in Ballymun cannot be achieved only by changing the physical fabric, by building spanking new houses or sports centres. The most pressing need is to tackle the "ghettoisation" of Ballymun by drawing a much more diverse social mix of people to the area. Providing accommodation for students from DCU would be a logical first step. With some flair and imagination it should not prove difficult to attract people to an area that is convenient to both the city centre and the airport especially at a time when house prices in much less favoured locations are soaring. Those in power made a disaster zone of the first Ballymun. History will pass a searing judgment if their successors in the 1990s fail to make a success out of the new Ballymun.