Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

The stories of the Irish State and of the Moore Street battlefield site mirror each other in many ways. Moore Street has been said to be the birthplace of the Irish State. The lanes and buildings that surround the street reverberate with the heroism of the people who were out in 1916. That action was the precursor to an independent State and, hopefully, that of the Northern state someday too. The Moore Street battlefield site was the location of the final stand of many of the volunteers who fought in the GPO in 1916. They came under heavy machine gun fire in the laneways around Moore Street and set up the last headquarters of the 1916 Provisional Government of the Irish Republic and the final council of war. Moore Street is also home to wonderfully rich architecture and one of the last extant 18th century streetscapes in Dublin. It is populated by a rich culture of street trading which is an iconic part of Dublin's heritage. That street trade has suffered radically over the last number of years with many traders now working in deplorable conditions. The energy that was once there seems, unfortunately, to be dissipating.

Moore Street has latterly become the location of another radically significant battle in Irish society. For the last 20 years, the street has been ground zero in a series of legal battles between Celtic tiger developers and those who seek to develop the area as a fitting tribute to the men and women of 1916. The latter seek to develop the street in a way that educates, informs and inspires future generations of Irish people and tourists alike. However, Moore Street has been sterilised by legal case after legal case and the inaction of successive Governments. The word "inaction" may be a little generous to the Government. Moore Street was determined by the High Court to be a national monument and the Government appealed that decision. It had a status which would have ensured the integrity of the battlefield site was protected but that status has disappeared. As a result, any existing planning application could be rolled out and the street's buildings could be destroyed.

The saddest aspect of this is that Moore Street is just off O'Connell Street and ideally located to constitute a vibrant new historical, cultural and trading quarter. Moore Street represents a unique opportunity where commercial interests could operate successfully side by side with a strengthened and rejuvenated street trading system. The relevant buildings and streetscapes could shed the grime and dereliction into which they have been forced and we could weave through them the story of the humanity of the Rising.

I wonder if at this stage we should in fact wait for the Minister to attend.

See this speech in context