Phoenix: Gaslighting?

The last column of 2025 as 2026 is nearly upon us. Same old, same old, or brave new world?

US president Donald Trump is apparently losing his grip on his supporters because he is failing to empathise with ordinary people and the economic challenges they face. 

Trump gaslights the working people of the USA to convince them that things were never better and if not good at the moment, will shortly be the best ever. During 2025, were the people of Waterford city being gaslit (not sure if that’s the correct expression) by government about our city’s place in the scheme of things? 

We discovered, among other things, that the government had no intention of doing anything with Waterford Airport other than kicking the can down the road to eventual extinction. The same can be said across many state investment metrics. 

Private money inevitably follows state investment. Without the latter you won’t attract the former. Going into 2026 and more precarious times (according to the ESRI and others), the truth will become apparent. 

Will Waterford see the stream of promised investment in UHW, SETU and FDI jobs as befits the fifth city in the land? Or will it again be a constant struggle to get projects over the line at the very end of government’s five-year term in 2030?

This writer cannot be the only one in Waterford who travels to Dublin or Dublin airport and ogles at the almost unbelievable spread of investment and infrastructure around the capital. We come back home and ask ourselves what has been built in Waterford in the past year? 

The North Quays and the Glassworks project? The Frisby Group deserves real credit for their leadership on the Glassworks because it has established an extremely high quality marker. 

A new UHW surgical hub and a new SETU engineering building are also underway. Hopefully, they augur well for vital investment in both institutions. 

Housing development continues at a brisk level across the city. Houses here are somewhat, in the Viking Triangle and adjacent to Reginald’s Tower, our pre-eminent historic monument, affordable in comparison to prices in other parts of the country. 

Whether this is because of lower wages, salary and land or development costs, it’s hard to say. 

Credit is due to government for the funding of the North Quays. It will open up a large brownfield site in Ferrybank. The worrying thing is that the bridge and its Ferrybank layout were designed for a Saudi Arabian development, which has been withdrawn, and the plans of the new developer, Harcourt Holdings, do not link seamlessly into what has been built. 

Everything will be a compromise, and the notion that the new “sustainable transport bridge” (whoever came up with that name) will not be usable for another two years is jaw-dropping. 

Otherwise, the new plaza slowly emerging around the Clock Tower is really beautiful. It sets the standard for how the entire length of the south quays should be presented.

Meanwhile, a pocket park in Thomas Street, on a perfect site for housing, will also not open for two years! Does the council think in two-year cycles? 

Whatever it is, I fear our council is presently suffering from some sort of paralysis. 

Things like Winterval, Harvest Festival, Spraoi and so on are delivered well and add to the attractiveness of the city’s artistic and cultural appeal. It’s the built environment that is worrying and the lack of city centre investment. 

Why can’t we build small apartment buildings, as at the end of Ballytruckle, on sites in New Street, Stephen's Street and Browne’s Lane? There must be many people who don’t need or want a garden and who would happily live in a small apartment in these areas. 

It was done successfully with Alexander Street. Why not elsewhere? 

Very nice to see the small office building on the corner of Barronstrand Street occupied by Parker Law and to see lights on during business hours. Same with a similar firm, Jacob Law, in two lovely Georgian buildings on The Mall. Great to see lights on and activity in these buildings. They don’t improve by being empty.

Council has promised many things over the years, Parade Quay apartments, apartments in Newgate Street, housing in The Glen and in Summerland, office building on the Munster Express site in Hanover Street, restoration of the Roman Catholic presbyteries in George's Street, restoration of 22 Lady Lane opposite the Franciscan Friary and so on. None of these things have started. 

Ivy and weed growth on our historic city walls and towers is also rampant in some areas. The council cannot be the developer of last resort in the historic city, but many of the buildings it owns are high profile. 

Parade Quay is particularly sad in an extremely visible area adjacent to Reginald’s Tower, our pre-eminent historic monument. A terrace of six or seven lovely old shops and buildings is mouldering away behind a 10 years old sign, advertising urban renewal. It’s not good enough.

If council has its eyesores, then the local business community also has some shockers. The 20-year-old surface car park in Exchange Street, having had 20 planning applications and no activity, takes the biscuit. 

The Yellow House pub, Shefflin’s Pubs in Manor Street etc also figure as blackspots. People using the Miller’s Marsh car park cannot fail to see the upper floors of the TK Maxx shop and the Odeon cinema, which are grimy and streaked with some sort of black mould. 

The whole huge complex looks unloved. The owners should be approached by the Chamber of Commerce or other business interests to resolve the situation. 

Everyone wants Waterford city to succeed but that can only happen with united action by all stakeholders, council, business and the local community. Business has to lead, investment is essential and crucial to show confidence in the place where we live. In that regard it’s great to see the old Maryland House building being cleared out in recent weeks. It sits on such a pivotal site that a decent refurbishment would lift everyone’s heart.

Anyway, it’s the end of another crucial year for Waterford. Like the curate’s egg, it was good in parts!