Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach. I will be in touch with his office to set up the meeting as soon as possible. When he was director of the National Museum of Ireland, Dr. Pat Wallace made these points and it was his considered view that any consent should be mindful of the national historic importance of the Moore Street area, including its laneways and buildings. This was reiterated by the National Museum of Ireland recently when it saw the Moore Street theatre of conflict as the most important historic site in modern Irish history. This is borne out by the Imperial War Museum in London, the representatives of which said, "it is the only city-based 20th century battlefield to survive in all of Europe and possibly the world" and "historically, it is beyond price." It is also borne out by a recent exchange with the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, on legislation dealing with areas surrounding a place of architectural significance. We cannot leave it to a self-appointed private group to look after an area of extreme historical significance. If Deputy Enda Kenny is still Taoiseach in 2016, he will not want to be standing outside one part of the building and surrounded by a derelict site. When he meets relatives, I hope an independent review can be discussed. People are thinking about seeking a judicial review and we could end up with NAMA using State money to defend a developer. There are precedents for undertaking an independent review; we do not want Moore Street to become like Wood Quay when we lost so much of Viking Dublin.

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