Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On 10 November 2015, I announced that I had approved a comprehensive scheme of restoration works to Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. The announcement of the commencement of works featured in national media coverage at the time and was widely welcomed. Having secured ownership of the buildings at Nos. 14 to 17, following agreement from the Government to purchase the site, work got under way by Lissadell Construction, who are recognised conservation and heritage experts. Projects that they have completed, to name but a few, are the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, the Gate Theatre, and Rathfarnham Castle. Over the past week, we have had a situation where a group of individuals, led by Éirigí, occupied the national monument, delaying and jeopardising the entire restoration project. I note Deputy Crowe's comment commending them. The works that are now resuming will stabilise, underpin and conserve these buildings for future generations to enjoy and visit. They will provide for the creation of a 1916 commemorative centre, which will be a fitting tribute to the leaders of 1916.

The archaeological and conservation work undertaken to date has revealed the tunnels where the rebels broke through from one house to the other, and these will be kept and preserved. The painstaking manual work has also revealed period details from 1916 and before. It will allow the public to see first-hand what the rebels encountered and where they made their final decisions to end the uprising to avoid further loss of life. The work under way will return the houses to their 1916 state for which there is ample witness, anecdotal, physical and documentary evidence.

On the issue of the buildings on either side of the national monument which have been the subject of some commentary, Nos. 18 and 19 were in ruins at the time of the Rising. No. 13 is a modern build, internally and externally. Nos. 18 and 19 have been rebuilt and remodelled in the meantime too. None of these houses has any evidence whatsoever of the presence of the rebels. They are modern inside and out and lack any fixtures, fittings, finishes, partitions, stairs or other original elements. This is backed up by documentary evidence, including valuation records from 1911 to 1915 and from 1915 to 1925, Thom's Directory 1915 and the Dublin electoral lists from 1908 to 1915. The removal of these fundamentally new buildings will allow the national monument to be comprehensively underpinned and stabilised and the gables to be given permanent finishes, protecting them into the future on a permanent basis.

Discussions on Moore Street have dragged on for decades. Moore Street is now being dealt with and our approach is neither crass nor ignorant. It was 2007 when Nos. 14 to 17 were declared a national monument and we are only now at the point of restoration. As everyone in this House will be aware, the development of the wider Moore Street area is a matter for the local authority, Dublin City Council. It does not fall under my remit. However, a report was prepared for my Department by Shaffrey Associates architects and Frank Myles archaeologists in February 2012, and they are experts in this area. Their report included an inspection, assessment and fabric investigations of an area incorporating the block formed by Moore Street, O'Rahilly Parade, Moore Lane, Henry Place and some of the areas south of Henry Place extending back towards Henry Street. The methodology used was approved by my Department and the director of the National Museum.

The report reinforced the status of Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. The main conclusions of the report were that there is little surviving of the historical landscape of the republican occupation of the Moore Street area on the final night of the Rising. The buildings along Moore Street do not demonstrate any exterior evidence of the conflict and what does survive is the street plan itself which retains something of its legibility as the route of the evacuation, or indeed as the advance on the British position, is followed.

Under the planning permission given by An Bord Pleanála in 2010, Moore Street itself will continue as an open street. As part of the wider development plans for the area, Henry Place, Moore Lane and O'Rahilly Parade are also to be retained. Before any further development takes place, a detailed project proposal must be submitted to Dublin City Council in which the historical significance of the critical locations along the evacuation route from the GPO are featured and interpreted.

The fabric of the national monument is extremely delicate and I do not want to see it deteriorate any further. We are at a stage now where people need to decide whether they want to save the national monument. I hope good sense will prevail.

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