Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is good that another way has been found.

I will now move on to category C correspondence, which is correspondence from private individuals and any other correspondence. No. 2431 is from the Moore Street Preservation Trust and is dated 28 February. It is in response to correspondence the committee received from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the national monument in Moore Street, which the committee agreed to forward to the group. Is it agreed to note and publish this correspondence? Agreed. I flag this because the issue of Moore Street and the national monument is going around the Houses.

While some information came back via the letter, the Moore Street Preservation Trust has raised the fact that there was no response in respect of issues raised in the Dáil. There were queries concerning the purchases of Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. There was also no response forthcoming regarding the sanctioned payments to traders who will be discommoded by developments in the area. The State owns Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. The trust wishes the whole terrace to be purchased but at this point it is the properties from Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street that are in the ownership of the State. I went over twice to look at these buildings in recent years and it is awful the way they have been left in a state of derelict condition. I think we should ask the Department what is being done now to at least maintain these buildings, which were the last headquarters of the provisional Government at the end of Easter week 1916. I suggest that we also ask the Department to respond to the points raised by the trust in its letter.

The trust has been very diligent in this matter. The whole terrace could have been demolished at one stage but for the vigilance of some people who took an interest in it. I propose that the committee seek a response from the Department to the points raised by the Moore Street Preservation Trust. Equally, though, I propose that we inquire regarding what plans are in place to undertake work to at least secure and maintain the buildings at Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street, that is, those in the ownership of the State. Does any other member of the committee wish to contribute on this point? This is a national monument and it is important that we would try to retain and develop it.

No. 2439 is from Deputy Catherine Murphy, dated 4 March, and is a proposal to add a meeting with the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, NPHDB, to the work programme. It is proposed that we would add the NPHDB to the work programme and discuss matters in this regard further under a work programme agenda item. We have mentioned a few times recently that it was time to consider bringing in the members of this board again.