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

I do not accept that there is a range of views. I think there are two opposing views: one favours major development of what is a battlefield and historic site and the other view favours the preservation of the site as an historic and cultural quarter. It looks as if the task force will kick the issue to touch for another while. The task force needs a set timeframe within which a decision will be made on the best way forward. From my perspective, that means the decision will be based on what is for the good of the city. It should not be about what is good for a developer. We have had enough of that. The good of the city is to preserve an area of great historic significance to which so many ordinary Dublin people and Irish people are very committed.

The High Court judgment was very much welcomed by so many who have concerns about our heritage and who want to preserve those sites and not leave them at the mercy of whatever developer comes along. I accept that in the meantime we must protect what is there, but I urge the Minister to outline when the task force will finish its job and what power it will have to make recommendations that can be worked on. Would it not be wonderful if the close of the centenary year brought a satisfactory conclusion for the battlefield site?

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