Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

I am also in favour of the scheme to work this area into a cultural quarter but many issues surround it. The only part that is preserved is Nos. 14-17 Moore Street and more must be done. The site has full planning permission with some conditions. The developer in question is in NAMA, which gives the State more power than usual. Aside from the huge influence of NAMA, the State has the option of a compulsory purchase order. In any situation where the common good outweighs private property rights, the State has the right to intervene. Many of the buildings on the street were built after 1916 but the whole street should be preserved as a cultural quarter, with the buildings rebuilt as they were before the Rising. It would be money well spent. A development, in a modified format, should go in tandem with it. The scale of the development is too big for today's economic conditions and was probably over the top at the time. There is room for developing the cultural centre in a proper manner. A modified development could also go ahead and the two could work well together.

In any city in Europe, one sees attempts to restore historical parts of the city. I have Turin in mind, where work has been done to restore old buildings in the old part of Turin. New shops, apartments, residential units, bars and restaurants have been built around the old buildings in a controlled and measured way. Ireland allowed O'Connell Street to go downhill due to a lack of planning and regulation. O'Connell Street leaves much to be desired as one of the most prominent streets in the city but we could develop this heritage area and the development in the proper manner.

I am a great believer in the value of history. History teaches us an awful lot and is the story of how we got to where we are today, why we act as we do and why we think like we do. Looking at politics and history over the past 100 years, people in the decision-making process, especially politicians, failed to learn the lessons of history. In Afghanistan, the Russians were mad to go in and spent ten years there. It was hard to credit that the Americans and British followed them in there but they have been in there for ten years now. One group was as bad as the other and each group has made as little progress as the other.

If this quarter was set up, it would provide greater awareness of history for many people in the country. There will also be a cultural tourism aspect to this. I would like to think the commercial and preservation aspects could go together. For those Members interested in checking it out I recommend the Italian Quarter along the quay which has worked well. The place was packed today in the sunshine and it has a lovely atmosphere. Preservation and commerce can go together. We preserved the old facade and we worked in co-operation with Dublin City Council.

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