Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe the Minister's response is good enough. Those who went before us and secured the future of the State deserve much better. I suspect the signatories of the 1916 Proclamation, if they are looking down on us, would care little for the Minister's sense of disappointment and are bewildered by her abandonment of such an important project that they would not only celebrate our past but play an important role in articulating the vision we have as a nation for our future.

It is unhelpful to state that the granting of the consent under the National Monuments Acts completes the Department's involvement in the project.

I ask the Minister to reconsider her position and instead pledge a full and independent battlefield sites survey of the Moore Street area bringing together all relevant parties with the intention of developing a new plan to protect, preserve and develop this historic quarter of our city.

If it is the case that the Minister is intent, on behalf of the Government, on abandoning the Moore Street project - as envisaged by the majority of Dublin City Council who represent the citizens of our capital city - will she state this clearly?

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