Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No.1:

To delete all the words after "Dail Eireann" and substitute the following:

"---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, and all other campaigners, 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;

---recognising the historical importance of the national monument at Nos. 14-17 Moore Street, welcomes the Minister's assurance that the monument is fully protected under the National Monuments Acts and that any development affecting it requires his formal consent under those Acts; and

---notes that the Minister will take full account of the role of the monument in the 1916 Rising in relation to any such consent application."

I wish to share my time with Deputies Arthur Spring, Patrick O'Donovan and Michelle Mulherin. I welcome the families of the 1916 leaders and I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. I have met representatives of the families, some of whom are in favour of this development and others who are opposed to it. I have met them at a meeting of the joint committee and I have visited the site. I am very familiar with both sides of the argument.

The Government's motion contains much of the substance and spirit of the original motion but better reflects the parameters of my functions under the National Monuments Acts with regard to the national monument at Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street, and the factors I can take into account in making a final decision on proposed works at the national monument site.

At the outset, I want to state unequivocally that the buildings at Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street are robustly and comprehensively protected as a national monument under the provisions of the National Monuments Acts. No change can be made to the buildings, internally or externally, without my express consent. I can assure the House that I am fully committed to the preservation of the national monument and that I would not countenance any works which would impair or harm such an integral part of Ireland's history.

The 1916 Rising was a seminal event and a fundamental turning point in the history of the Irish people - a catalyst to a chain of events that would culminate in the creation of our Republic. The actions and self-sacrifice of the men and women who fought for Irish freedom in Easter Week 1916 laid the foundations for the establishment of the Irish State. It is the reason we are in this House this evening.

The national monument at Moore Street has particular significance in the story of 1916 as the location of the last military actions of the leaders of the Rising: Pearse, Clarke, Connolly, Plunkett and MacDermott. I am acutely aware of my responsibility as the Minister charged with the protection of this monument and I can assure the House that I am deeply committed to that role. Indeed, I feel privileged to bear this responsibility in the run-up to the centenary of the events of 1916, being deeply cognisant of the central role that the national monument at Moore Street played in the events of 1916 and, therefore, its importance in the upcoming centenary celebrations.

Against that background, I want to join in paying special tribute to the relatives of the signatories to the 1916 Proclamation and the other campaigners who have managed to raise public awareness of the historic buildings on Moore Street. Their hard work and commitment has ensured that there is a national monument there today. But for them, what is now a national monument could have been demolished under planning permission granted in 1999 that would have allowed this to happen. It was their efforts that led to the preservation order being placed on Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street in January 2007 - a decision with which I fully concur.

The preservation order means that no works affecting these properties can start without my prior written consent under the National Monuments Acts. However, it is important to note that the national monument is not State-owned; it is privately owned, as is the surrounding development site. The current development proposal for the former Carlton cinema site, which includes the monument buildings on Moore Street, began its journey through the planning process in April 2008, after the preservation order had been put in place.

The development finally received planning permission from An Bord Pleanála in March 2010. An Bord Pleanála's decision in 2010 took full account of the preservation order and the need for ministerial consent to be obtained under the National Monuments Acts before any works on or to the national monument could take place. Indeed, the board went further in also requiring a full archaeological appraisal of the entire development site and the preservation and recording of archaeological materials or historical features within it.

In addition, it requires a detailed project proposal to be prepared for the purpose of featuring and interpreting the historic significance of critical locations along the insurgents' evacuation route from the GPO to Moore Street. These would be issues to be addressed by the developer with Dublin City Council in the context of the overall development of the site.

In June 2011, I received an application on behalf of the developers for consent under the National Monuments Acts relating to Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. I want to categorically re-state that there are no proposals within the application before me either to demolish - or pull down, as Deputy Ferris said - these buildings. Neither is it the case that only the facades will be retained. The fact is that as much as possible of the internal and external structures are being retained.

The proposal is for Nos. 14 and 15 to house the main functions of a commemorative centre, while No. 17 would accommodate a specialist bookshop and other facilities for visitors. Meanwhile, No. 16, the most important and iconic building, would serve as the focal point of the commemorative centre.

There have been calls, echoed here this evening, for the national monument at Moore Street and the surrounding streetscape to be recognised as a historic battlefield and for it to be preserved as a historical or cultural quarter. This is a completely and entirely separate issue to the consent application for Nos. 14 to 17, that is currently before me under the National Monuments Acts. It is not clear how a battlefield site project could be developed in light of the existence of an extant planning permission. This permission was granted by An Bord Pleanála, the independent body set up by the Oireachtas to adjudicate on planning consents where disputes arise as to whether or how developments should or should not proceed. The permission was granted after comprehensive input from all interested parties to both the City Council and An Bord Pleanála, and in full light of the existence of the preservation order.

Notwithstanding that the wider area is not part of the current consent application, nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that Moore Street and its surrounds have not remained static since 1916. Much of Moore Street itself dates from after 1916. A great deal of alteration to buildings on the street has also taken place in the meantime. For example, in so far as the terrace containing the national monument is concerned, Nos. 1 to 7 were built after 1916. The buildings at Nos. 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 22 to 25, inclusive, all also date from after 1916. I think this was pointed out by Deputy Ó Caoláin.

See this speech in context