Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yes, absolutely. Bureaucracy. I cannot understand why it has to go to the Taoiseach. Is there not a role for the county council in this? As they said, and as I am well aware, they have the backing of the county council and others. The fact we have to be in here discussing this is desperate. According to the OPW:

Kilmainham Gaol is a National Monument and an iconic and much respected site in the context of the national independence struggle in particular. The fact that it is also a grave location adds a significant resonance to its penal and historical significance and there is a strong opposing view to the current campaign that believes that the grave should not be disturbed....

Whose idea was that? It was not the witnesses' idea. The OPW is making excuse after excuse. What frustrates me is that there are so many families that are frustrated. The National Graves Association made the point that you cannot just rock up to Kilmainham Gaol at your ease, willy-nilly, and say I am just going in to see one of my relatives. The word I would use is bonkers. Why are they making it so difficult to do the right thing? They mentioned the historical value of this. The witnesses also mentioned it. They are probably the last remaining souls that have not been reinterred where they should rightly be. I had the honour of being at the reinterment of Thomas Kent. It was mind boggling to see that it could be done and I was very proud to be there. As Deputy Ó Snodaigh asked, where do we go from here? I have written down notes already. We have to write to the Taoiseach for permission. Why does it have to go to the Taoiseach? Is there nobody in one of the Departments who actually has the cojones to make this decision? Is there somebody above them who is trying to stop them doing the right thing?