Chairman:

We will move on programme B. I will open the questions on this. Programme B refers to Moore Street and I am on the record as having given the Minister credit for the development of the Moore Street consultative forum which is trying to identify a solution to the Moore Street space. Moore Street is obviously of massive cultural importance to the people but, unfortunately, the location is a sterile environment and has been for years due to the ongoing wrangling between developers, the State, and cultural and heritage organisations. My major concern is that we are probably going to be looking at a continuation of the legal wrangling for the next three to five years and that quarter at the northern end of O'Connell Street will remain a sterile space. This would be a major sin for us if that were to be the case because the opportunity exists there, one, to pay respect to the men and women of 1916, two, to bring alive the heritage of that era for Irish people and tourists to experience, and three, to make it a vibrant market space. This is in our gift and I believe that we should do all that we can to achieve it. I understand that the property developer, Hammerson, has not engaged with the consultative group so far and that the Minister is meeting it next week. It would be useful if she could, one, convince Hammerson to really get involved in working as a partner on the future of Moore Street, and two, indicate what tools she might have up her sleeve to encourage Hammerson to do this. One of the tools could be, for example, that a number of buildings or streets would be identified as preserved national monuments. That would obviously focus the mind of Hammerson in the future. Perhaps the Minister could talk about that.