Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I put it to the Minister, Deputy Madigan, that the fact we have to stand here today not just to debate but defend this Bill is a damning indictment of how the Minister's party and Government views the sacrifices that were made by Ireland's revolutionary heroes. It is nothing short of scandalous. It is more than possible that the Minister or I would not be standing here today representing the views of our respective constituents but for the bravery of the men and women who took on the British Empire in the course of the Easter Rising in 1916. How a Government that was elected by the people as custodians of our heritage could even consider, or worse facilitate, the bulldozing of one of our most precious national sites is beyond belief.

No other state or government worldwide would ever consider destroying its heritage to allow a developer to speculate for profit.

The handling of this issue by the Government has been nothing short of a disgrace. Our heroes of 1916, those brave souls who sacrificed all for the birth of our Republic, must be turning in their graves wondering what it was all for if this is the way their struggle is to be remembered. To drive this matter through the Irish courts, along with relatives of our patriot dead, to railroad a commercial development and destroy the remembrances of our heroic past is a national betrayal.

I applaud, as I have done in the past, the relatives of our heroes, along with others, who protested, occupied, highlighted or presented in court to stop the shameless intent of the Government that would reduce this revolutionary quarter of our capital city to worthless rubble. We have so much to be thankful to them for.

There were two welcome outcomes arising from the relatives groups' pursuance of their cause through the courts. First, a stop was put on the destruction of the battlefield site and the surrounding buildings. Second and of most importance, it is now without doubt and clear as day following the Government's Court of Appeal case that the power to designate this significant battlefield a constituted monument site of national importance lies solely within the Minister's power. I note that she has submitted what I can only view as a blocking amendment. I am sorry that others seem to think it is the appropriate thing to do to support it. It is a blocking amendment to the Bill that purports to favour allowing the Moore Street advisory group "to continue and conclude its deliberations". No one is seeking to prevent the group from continuing its work; on the contrary.

I wish to record my sincere appreciation for the 1916 Relatives Association, the Save 16 Moore Street Committee, the Save No. 16 Moore Street Committee, the Moore Street traders association, my fellow elected Deputies from across the political spectrum, including those who have spoken today, and all those councillors who have invested their time and energies in this group over a long period.

I put it to the Minister that there is a deep flaw in her interpretation of the current situation. The Moore Street advisory group was set up in September 2016 on foot of the initial court case taken by the relatives in January 2016, which determined that the area was the site of the last battle. The Government's appeal in February of this year determined that the power to issue preservation orders lies in the hands of the Minister rather than in the hands of the courts. Therefore, I suggest that the work of the advisory group can contribute to the site's future. In fact, I commend that it does. The truth is, however, that there is no inhibitor whatsoever preventing the Minister, along with the Government, from recognising the Moore Street battlefield as a site of national importance. The Minister can finally correct her Department's and the Government's woeful treatment of these revolutionaries' legacies and the hard work and campaigning of their relatives. She can do the right thing and designate this site here and now. It is within her gift.

I commend the Bill to the House and I thank my colleague, Deputy Tóibín, for introducing it.

See this speech in context