Mr. James Connolly Heron:

We think of history as something only in the past, often forgetting that we too are part of history and we too are going to be judged by history just as those who came before us. The question for us today is how will we be judged on this issue. As Oireachtas Members, under preservation order No. 1 of 2007, committee members undertake the preservation of the national monument. It is their duty to protect the national monument in the interests of the people. In their letter of notification to interested parties the committee sought to bring interested parties together to achieve consensus on the best approach to preserve this historic site. Consensus is not a prerequisite for preservation; action is. It is time to act. As the actor Sam Waterson put it on the threat to the preservation of battlefields in the United States. "Those places that we cherish had better be defended; because development is so swift, so efficient and rather final."

I trust that the committee will facilitate and allow all interested parties to present their case to it in the interests of openness, transparency, proper planning, the protection of our heritage and history and, more importantly, in the national interest. Anything less insults the very memory of those the Moore Street, Moore Lane, 1916 national monument purports to honour.