Mr. James Connolly Heron:

That issue was addressed earlier, if the Senator will forgive me for saying so. The provisions under the existing Planning and Development Acts are adequate to protect the buildings in question, as well as other buildings in the area directly associated with the Easter Rising. The Senator mentioned one of the iconic figures of Irish history, Michael Collins, who spent time in the terrace in question. He was in the GPO garrison. It is extraordinary that every political party in this State can be linked to the evacuation of the terrace. The Labour Party is directly linked through its founder, James Connolly. Fianna Fáil has too many links to mention but the most obvious is the former Taoiseach, Seán Lemass. Fine Gael has the Michael Collins connection and while Sinn Féin was not an active participant in the rising, it gained from it in terms of popularity and appeal. All these parties can trace their lineage to what we describe as the birthplace of the Republic.

Nothing will happen until we have a political decision. We are rapidly approaching the centenary of 1916. The decision could be taken politically. If the Minister says "No", we will go back to the drawing board to produce a new plan. At that stage all interested parties -----