Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Colreavy is correct in that we are going through the motions tonight. While not many of us know if we are coming back, we would like to think that what we try to achieve in here has some sort of meaning and brings about some sort of positive change. This is what this motion is about.

Moore Street has a special place in the hearts of Irish people. In an act of cultural vandalism, however, the Government, through its inaction, is allowing the destruction of part of our national heritage, including the battlefield site on Moore Street. This street teems with history and significance. It is part of the DNA of Dublin people. It is clear there is a significant groundswell of public opinion in favour of preserving and developing not only Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street but the entire battlefield site. As this year goes on, that groundswell of opinion will manifest itself more and become more vocal and angry about what is happening with this site.

A restored Moore Street and battlefield site would be a fitting tribute to those who raised the flag of the Irish Republic 100 years ago. It would also be a huge tourist attraction for Irish people and foreign visitors, not to mention the unique educational advantages it could bring to school students and anyone with even a minute interest in history. Although the Government will try to shift the blame, the primary responsibility for the mess that is Moore Street, as well as the surrounding area as far as O'Connell Street, rests with it and its predecessors. Tonight, we will hear that it is the fault of Dublin City Council or somebody else but we all know where the fault lies. It was this Government which refused to use the legislative powers at its disposal to stop NAMA, a State agency, from selling off the entire Moore Street terrace, which was in its power to do so under the NAMA Act. It was this Government which failed to use the same legislative powers on 15 other occasions. Previously, when my colleague, Teachta Ó Snodaigh, questioned the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, on why the Government did not do just that with this site, he was told the site was not appropriate for such an intervention. That is on the Dáil record.

This approach was adopted, contrary to the view of the National Museum of Ireland which has identified this site as the most important historical site in modern Irish history. There are some experts and then there are those who seem to know everything. The bald facts are that the Government has been more than happy to hand over part of our national heritage to developers, speculators and profiteers to do what they like.

They see Moore Street through a different prism than the rest of us and see this site purely as a source of speculative profit.

Our vision is different. We want to see the area preserved and redeveloped in a manner worthy of its history. It not too much to ask. We want the area from the GPO to Parnell Square, including Moore Street, to be officially recognised as a 1916 revolutionary quarter and, as such, be marked and designated a national monument under the protection of the State.

Sending in the bulldozers to Moore Street is not acceptable and it will not be tolerated by the people not only of this city but of this country. It will be resisted, and resisted fiercely, in this centenary year of the Rising. I commend and applaud the 1916 relatives committee on securing a stay of works at the Moore Street site and those who occupied the site to stop its demolition. The full case is up again on 9 February, involving the 1916 relatives versus the Irish Government. We do not know what the outcome will be but we hope and pray that the courts, in their wisdom, will see the justice of the case and the justice of the argument that the 1916 relatives are putting forward. Hopefully, we will see the preservation of, and safety applied to, the Moore Street site. It means a great deal to the people not only of Dublin but of Ireland.

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