Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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This is a particularly important issue as the centenary of the 1916 Rising looms nearer every day.

Moore Street is an area that was very much part and parcel of the 1916 rebellion. As a result, a campaign, of which I was a participant, began several years ago to save No. 16 Moore Street, which was the last headquarters of the leaders before the final surrender. The previous Government agreed to designate Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street as a national monument. Therefore, there are two national monuments in the area: the GPO, which is directly associated with 1916; and Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street, which is the location of the final stage of the battle that took place there.

The National Graves Association has been very much to the forefront in leading the campaign, as has the Save 16 Moore Street campaign, which is headed by Mr. James Connolly Heron, the great-grandson of James Connolly, and relatives of the survivors of the 1916 rebellion and particularly of the signatories of the Proclamation.

Moore Street has become derelict over the years. The integrated area plan, that was established to develop O'Connell Street, Moore Street and the environs, was bedevilled by legal wrangles and as a result, in the years of the Celtic tiger the development that was supposed to take place never really took place. Apart from the enabling works by Dublin City Council in O'Connell Street where they improved it considerably, the work has not proceeded as it should have.

In March of this year, the property developer Mr. Joe O'Reilly, who headed up a consortium for Chartered Lands, secured planning permission for the development of the site. He has six years to carry out the development. However, many of us know that a number of Mr. O'Reilly's business loans with Irish banks are now in NAMA and there is a major question over Mr. O'Reilly's capacity to develop it.

The planning permission includes the demolition of some of the buildings surrounding the national monument and some of the fabric of Nos. 16 and Nos. 14 -17 Moore Street. I agree with the Save 16 Moore Street campaign that the entire terrace of houses should be conserved and that the backlands and the curtilage, which are an integral part of the national monument, should be preserved in that context.

We are only five years from the centenary commemoration and it is important that the Government declares its intention on how it will proceed with that objective of preserving the national monument and promoting it in the context of the centenary commemorations. The Shaffrey report commissioned by Dublin City Council contains many good ideas and recommendations. That remains the basis on which progress can be made, but the National Museum and Office of Public Works, and maybe the Heritage Council and the Government, need to get directly involved at this time to ensure that there is direct supervision over what takes place.

The private sector is unlikely to be in a position to proceed, one way or the other. The private sector planning application contains many flaws and at this time, we need to look at the entire monument. Dublin City Council passed a motion stating that there should be a museum on that site, but we must look at the entire monument with a view to seeing how it can be best conserved and developed in the context of the commemoration of the leaders of 1916.

I have raised the issue here in the past, but there is a new Government and it will be in place until 2016. It behoves the Government to take the initiative at an early stage to decide what will happen to those two national monuments to begin to prepare for the 1916 centenary, and that it be done in the most comprehensive and inclusive fashion to ensure that those monuments will be part and parcel of our heritage for the future and that we can build on that in a most respectful and patriotic way.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Ar dtús, gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Costello as ucht an ábhar tábhachtach seo a thógáil ar an Athló anseo tráthnóna.

The Government fully appreciates the historical significance of these buildings as the site of the last military actions of the leaders of the 1916 Rising following the evacuation of the GPO. No. 16 Moore Street, where the final council of war is believed to have been held, was the final headquarters of the Provisional Government which included five of the Proclamation signatories - Pearse, Connolly, Plunkett, Clarke and McDermott. Their courage and self-sacrifice laid the foundations for the establishment of the Irish State. The Deputy will be aware that plans to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising were discussed during Leaders' Questions on Tuesday. The Taoiseach who has visited the Moore Street monument site outlined his intention to establish before Easter a consultation group on the commemorative programme for the centenary celebrations in five years time. He indicated that membership of the group would extend beyond the Oireachtas to ensure it had a full understanding of the background and environment surrounding these momentous events. As he noted, this is an opportunity for the Oireachtas to be a party to sensitive and appropriate commemoration of the events of 1916 and consider the preservation and protection of the national monument in a sensitive and responsible way.

As far as 14-17 Moore Street are concerned, in January 2007 the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government placed a preservation order on the buildings under the National Monuments Acts. The order was made on the grounds that 16 Moore Street was a monument, the preservation of which was of national importance by reason of its historical significance. The purpose of the order is to ensure the preservation of 16 Moore Street in the context of wider redevelopment proposals centred on the former Carlton Cinema site. To achieve this objective the order also covers 14-17 Moore Street and includes the yards to the rear of 15 and 16 Moore Street, extending to 8 and 9 Moore Lane. The effect of the order is that works affecting these properties, including any excavation or ground disturbance within, around or in proximity to them, require the prior written consent of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government under the National Monuments Acts. The Minister is statutorily obliged to consult the director of the National Museum as part of the consent process. It is an offence for anyone to damage, injure, remove or carry out, or cause or permit work affecting the monument without the Minister's written consent.

An Bord Pleanála has made a decision to grant permission, with conditions, for a mixed development on the former Carlton Cinema site which includes the Moore Street monument. That permission in no way supersedes the preservation order in place and the consent of the Minister will still be required in accordance with section 14 of the National Monuments Act 1930 for any works affecting the area covered by the order. While consent has been given by the Minister from time to time for minor works to protect and maintain the fabric of these buildings, to date no application for consent related to the proposed major development has been received. The proposed development of the site, in accordance with the permission granted by An Bord Pleanála, envisages the retention of 14-17 Moore Street and, subject to Ministerial consent under the National Monuments Acts, to 16 Moore Street becoming a commemorative centre. This also accords with the objective of the Dublin City Council development plan to have the building in museum use.

In summary, the protection of 14-17 Moore Street as a national monument is secure and in place. The Deputy can be assured that the appropriateness of any proposed works affecting these buildings will be carefully considered in the light of all relevant factors and recommendations if and when a development related consent application is submitted for approval.