Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Moore Street is the battle place and the birthplace of the Irish Republic. The lanes that surround Moore Street record the heroism and actions of the people who were out in 1916. The Moore Street battlefield site was the location of the final stand of many of the Volunteers who fought in the GPO. They came under heavy machine gun fire in the laneways around Moore Street as they set up the headquarters of the 1916 provisional government and the final council of war. Those actions were the precursor to the independent State of today and the precursor, we hope, to the independence of the North of Ireland some sunny day soon.

The freedoms we have in this State today are a direct result of the heroism of the men and women who fought on that battlefield site. I ask the Ministers who hold office today to think about the fact they do so in large part because of the actions of the men and women of 1916 on this particular site. What is the result of holding office when it comes to the Moore Street battlefield site? After ten years of Fine Gael in government, the most important battlefield site of the Republic is shrouded in grime and dereliction. It is a place where people urinate and defecate and where traders are assaulted. More than 100 years after the 1916 Rising, this battlefield site, the birthplace of the Republic, is an absolutely derelict site. After all the talking, Bills and forums, it is an outdoor toilet.

That is an absolutely shocking dereliction of duty when it comes to our heritage as a people, country and nation. It is a shocking dereliction of duty in terms of the responsibilities we owe to the traders who operate on that site. This dereliction of duty shows the priorities of the Government. I have been on some of those groups, committees and forums and I have listened to the Dáil debates on this issue. The net result of the ten years of work on Moore Street is dereliction. It has been allowed to die a slow death. That should not be the case because the Moore Street site presents a serious opportunity. It could be an engine of renewal in the north inner city. It could be a cultural hub that breathes new life into the area west of O'Connell Street. It could be where the historical, cultural, Irish language and commercial interests of this country can operate successfully side by side. A rejuvenated Moore Street could rival the great outdoor markets that are seen in other European cities.

Instead, it is a derelict site because of Fine Gael's inaction over the past ten years. The Government is paralysed, waiting for Hammerson, which owned much of the battlefield site, to act. The Government's strategy, like the strategy of the previous Government, is to defer to the commercial interests of the vulture funds that have owned this site. The Government has given primacy to the commercial interests of large property companies at the cost of Ireland's heritage. This battlefield site is now the site of another battle between large international property owners and the citizens' and relatives' groups that are battling to keep the site as part of Ireland's valuable heritage. On which side is the Government in this battle? On which side are Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party? Fine Gael has stood with the property interests against the heritage of Ireland for many a long year. Anybody who wants another example of this simply has to look at what happened to The O'Rahilly house in the past six months. Despite my warnings to the Government, it was allowed to be demolished.

Where does Fianna Fáil stand on this? It stands in different places depending on the weather and whether it is in government. The Bill we are discussing today is largely based on one brought forward by the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, which he quickly dropped as soon as he got a ministerial seat under his rear end. It is an incredible situation that Fianna Fáil will say one thing in government but be a different party when in opposition.

The deferral to Hammerson's plan is a massive mistake. It was reported in the newspapers just this week that Hammerson is in serious financial trouble, posting a €1.7 billion loss for 2020. The company gave a formal warning regarding its ability to continue as a going concern. The Government has put all its eggs in the Hammerson basket in regard to the rejuvenation of Moore Street, but this is a property company that may not be able to make it to the end of the year.

Why is the Government waiting to act? The State already owns a large number of buildings on the street. We could be rejuvenating the parts of the street that the State already owns. We could have a museum there and begin breathing new life into the street. We in Aontú have already introduced a Bill with proposals for Moore Street and we have campaigned strongly for the heritage of this country to be given the value to which it is entitled. Unfortunately, our efforts have been landing on deaf ears to date.

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