Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

— looks forward to the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising and the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, a landmark in the history of the people of Ireland;

— recalls that in January 2007 the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government placed a preservation order on Nos. 14-17 Moore Street, Dublin, under section 8 of the National Monuments Act 1930, on the grounds that the buildings are of national importance by reason of their historical significance as the final headquarters of the 1916 Provisional Government;

— acknowledges the hard work of the relatives of the signatories to the 1916 Proclamation of Independence in raising public awareness of the importance of these historic buildings and this historic area of our capital city, and in securing the designation of the national monument;

— views with serious concern the deterioration of the national monument which has languished in a vacant and neglected state for many years and the potential threat to the monument under a current planning application;

— resolves to ensure that the 1916 National Monument at Nos. 14-17 Moore Street is fully protected and preserved in its entirety as designated and that the surrounding buildings, streets and laneways are retained in such a manner that the potential to develop this area into a 1916 historic-cultural quarter can be fulfilled; and

— calls on the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to act without further delay to ensure the full preservation of the national monument and to develop a plan to transform the GPO-Moore Street area into an historic quarter and battlefield site so as to protect and preserve the 1916 National Monument and the associated streetscapes and laneways, thus greatly enhancing our national heritage and tourist potential in our capital city as we approach the centenary of the Easter Rising.

I wish to share time with Deputies Ferris, Ó Caoláin, Troy and Browne.

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