Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I wish the committee well in its deliberations. I am not a member of this committee but I am a member of the all-party centenary committee, which has had several discussions on this issue. Ms Ó Brolcháin gave one of the most important contributions because she explained how one can capture the events of 1916 in one's imagination by walking these streets based on a little bit of history. If it is redeveloped in an inappropriate manner - I will not comment on the specific proposals - and those streets are no longer there, we will potentially obliterate any way of capturing these memories. I visited the site and the buildings at the invitation of Chartered Land but I also toured with relatives. I have seen the potential for the site from within and without and I have also visited many historical sites around the world.

I have a number of questions for the witnesses.

One of the questions is to Dublin City Council. Does Mr. Tierney believe that in the public mind there is a view of the city council that there has been an ignorance about the social, cultural and aesthetic value of historical buildings in Dublin? That is based on what happened with Wood Quay, Frascati House and Georgian Dublin. This also applies to the national authorities in the context of Kilmainham. Does he believe that a different approach should have been taken to historical monuments in the city? The idea behind DCC's rejuvenation plan with the HARP project was to preserve as much of the historical city centre as possible to attract tourists and generate revenue there. Where lies that project?

Mr. Conway mentioned having one in the hand and two in the bush. Does he believe that the State has two birds in the hand because it controls everything, which is in the gift of the Minister?

Is it the view of the various witnesses that there should be an early decision from the Minister in order that once for and all, we can ensure this area is properly preserved in dedication to those who fought, died or survived during that heady week in 1916?