Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will comment on the contribution of my colleague, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, and thank him for the huge effort and commitment he has made to dealing with this matter, which was beyond the call of duty. His grandfather was involved and he has a significant interest in all matters concerning the Easter Rising. He has been particularly active about saving Moore Street and we are all grateful to him for that. This was the birthplace of the Republic and 14 to 17 Moore Street is a national monument. All of us are calling for the preservation of the entire Moore Street terrace. As a Dublin City councillor between 2014 and 2016, huge pressure was brought to bear on us to sell 24 and 25 Moore Street to Chartered Land. Had we yielded to that pressure, planning permission would have been brought into force, there would be a huge shopping centre now in place there, and much of the terrace would have been destroyed. It was not the finest hour for city management but thankfully there were enough of us Dublin City councillors to prevent the disposal of 24 and 25 Moore Street. We are talking about a battlefield site and laneways of history. All of it must be preserved.

I sit on the Moore Street advisory group and we produced the report with recommendations of how we should proceed with the matter. I join with other Deputies in praising the Moore Street traders. Moore Street and the trading which takes place there are synonymous with Dublin but they are fighting against authority and bureaucracy all the time. Dublin City Council management has not been particularly supportive of them by providing basic services such as a tap for running water. They seem to be fighting all the time over little issues like that to preserve their trade. It is great to see the recommendations in this report to enhance and preserve what they are doing. As Deputy Ó Cuív said, my grandfather, Seán Lemass, was a young volunteer in the 1916 Rising, based in the GPO. His brother, Noel, was based in the Imperial Hotel opposite the GPO. He had to evacuate the GPO when the call came to do so. He wrote a vivid account of his activities during those few days and has spoken about how they went into 10 Moore Street and had to tunnel their way through the houses down Moore Street. Those tunnels and the holes in the wall are still there. I have been fortunate enough to have a viewing of the national monument, 14 to 17 Moore Street. It is emotional to see those tunnels still there and it brings to life just what those brave men and women did at that time. My family would be disappointed in the lack of progress with the matter. Everybody knows what has to be done and, from the point of view of the Lemass family, we need to proceed with this and we are disappointed with the lack of progress on the issue.

Like other speakers, I would like to praise the relatives' groups. Were it not for them, that massive shopping centre proposed by Chartered Land would now be in place, dwarfing the national monument. They fought a long battle and it was good to see all the various groups of relatives from different backgrounds coming together in that forum to produce the recommendations which are now there for action by central and local government. The site itself and the area around O'Connell Street is in a terrible state of dereliction. This does not reflect well on central and local government and heads have to be knocked together to bring this project to fruition. I agree with others that we need to work together. There is a vision in place and a collaborative approach is needed. A process is in place and it would be outrageous if this opportunity was squandered.

It was difficult to get all the interest groups and interested parties together to produce one report and to sing off the same hymn sheet. Those who gave up their time voluntarily are becoming impatient with the lack of progress with this. It is important to engage with the new owners. We have to accept what they have said to us in good faith. I hope we can get down to teasing out the details of any new planning application that they will submit in the near future. I am disappointed with the lack of progress and interest shown by Government in this matter. Maybe the process was delayed while we tried to get Hammerson to the table but at the end of the day the company came willingly. There are many things the Government could be doing now. Funding is an issue for the mixed development proposed for the Moore Street terrace. As the Minister agrees budgets going forward, she needs to be conscious of the recommendations of this report and what public funding can be provided for, for example, an Irish language centre, as Deputy Ó Cuív has outlined.

The time has long passed for the regeneration of this site. The Minister must play a leading role in the matter. It would be great if the Taoiseach were to become more involved in the matter. A Taoiseach has great power in many respects and if he showed a personal interest in this project it would be helpful. He is a Dublin Taoiseach and this is a Dublin project, albeit with an important national dimension. I agree with the sentiments expressed by many speakers, in particular my colleague, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív. I hope we can make progress quickly on the issue.

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