Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. Under section 8 of the National Monuments Act 1930, as amended, a preservation order may be made where it appears to the Minister that a monument, which in the Minister's opinion is a national monument, "is in danger of being or is actually being destroyed, injured or removed or is falling into decay through neglect". Apart from any question of whether each and every building referred to by the Deputy would appropriately be regarded as a national monument, I am not advised that they are subject to any immediate threat. On the contrary, as the Deputy is aware from his membership of the Moore Street advisory forum, the owner is advancing plans to preserve and conserve many of these buildings, and in particular those with a direct connection to the events of Easter Week 1916. Consequently, the conditions do not exist in which the making of a preservation order would be warranted in any event.

As the Deputy knows, Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street comprise a national monument owned by the State. It forms a unique and coherent streetscape of substantially intact mid-18th-century structures. Collectively, Nos. 14 to 17 represent the most significant, original, complete, discrete and continuous section of substantially intact pre-1916 buildings on the street, most of the remainder being post-1916 buildings. Today all of these houses retain significant 18th-century elements, including staircases, partitions, plasterwork, doors, floors, fittings and fixtures.

The 18th-century building form and profiles also survive. More important, so too does the physical evidence of the presence of the insurgents in the form of the openings broken through party walls as they made their way up the street. The Deputy has been privileged to see these at first hand.

By contrast, I note that No. 25 Moore Street, in respect of which the Deputy's question is seeking to have a preservation order made on grounds that it is a 1916 building, was actually constructed entirely anew from the ground up in the mid-1990s as a dedicated facility for Dublin City Council's street-cleansing operations.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

As a member of the Moore Street advisory group, and as noted earlier, the Deputy is aware of the meeting some weeks ago where agreement was reached on the modalities of engagement between the owners of the Moore Street development site and the advisory group to secure a way forward for the revitalisation of the area in a manner that will recognise the views of all stakeholders and reflect its historical and cultural significance and its employment and economic value to the north inner city - and all in a manner consonant with the recommendations of the previous Moore Street consultative group's work "The Moore Street Report - Securing History".

The Deputy will recall that the key recommendation of this report was the establishment of the Moore Street advisory group, of which he is a member and which has the task of devising an agreed plan among the key stakeholders that will take account of the needs of the area in a way that also respects and acknowledges its importance in the context of the 1916 Rising and ultimately the foundation of the State. Fundamental to this objective is the dialogue that is now taking place with the owners of the site that extends from Moore Street to the Carlton cinema in O'Connell Street.

I was very pleased to hear from the chairperson of the advisory group of the constructive engagement between group, including the Deputy, and the owners. I believe that this is the appropriate way in which to address the issues relating to the site and its wider environs. I am pleased that a foundation and framework has now been laid for positive and fruitful co-operation, dialogue and interaction between all the key interests in Moore Street under the aegis of the Moore Street advisory group. I encourage the Deputy again to continue to engage and contribute to that process through his membership of the group, which I believe is best placed to deliver a satisfactory outcome for all stakeholders.

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