Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Let us be under no illusions. Relocating the Abbey Theatre would cost a significant amount of money. However, if this is the correct thing to do - obviously any move would have to be considered in the context of the state of the public finances - then we should proceed. I am of the view that this issue is much larger than mere planning or logistics considerations. We cannot consider the big question until we know whether a relocation to the GPO would be possible. There would be no point in engaging in a political, cultural or historical debate in respect of the future of the GPO and deciding the relocation of the Abbey Theatre there should proceed, only to discover that such a relocation would not be possible.

I accept that the expenditure of money is a significant issue at present. However, it is worth spending money in order to establish what the future might hold for the Abbey Theatre. The closer we come to 2016, the more conscious people are becoming not only of our future but also of our past. People want to preserve the best parts of our history. One of the best ways of reminding people - in a physical sense and not just in the context of the ideals of those who rose up in 1916 - of our past is to highlight the part played in it by the GPO.

There are those who will state that we should implement the ideals espoused in the 1916 Proclamation and we can, of course, do so. However, it must be noted that the GPO is a symbol of idealism and republicanism and we do not want to do anything which would detract from this. Having said that, the relocation of the Abbey Theatre to the GPO might contribute to rather than subtract from the symbolism relating to the site.

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