Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputies Michael Collins, Danny Healy-Rae and Nolan. Ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá ar an mBille seo. I compliment Deputy Ó Snodaigh and Sinn Féin on bringing forward this important Private Members' Bill. Unfortunately, we are seeing the typical political stances taken by the main parties, especially Fianna Fáil. I note from research that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, when he was a Seanadóir, brought forward a Bill on which the legislation we are discussing today was modelled. As the last speaker said, it is amazing that when one get's one's bundún into the nice surroundings of a ministerial car, one can forget one's principles and ideals.

The person can forget our heritage and the significance of what the people did to give us the freedom to be able to rent this dastardly place - it is so big and expensive - to sit here during the pandemic.

It is vital that we preserve our heritage and have those people recognised. While I am at it, I hope the Acting Chairman will allow me to mention the great Seán Ó Treasaigh, who lost his life on Talbot Street. A person would have to look with a magnifying glass to find the plaque on the wall. It seems we cannot have a proper and fitting monument in a place off our main thoroughfare to salute the heroic sacrifice that Seán Ó Treasaigh made with many others and the gallant way he fought for our freedom. The plaque is not even clean. A stranger would not see it if he walked down the street as it is up high on the wall and barely visible. It is a shame that we get such little recognition of our patriots.

The creation of a cultural quarter for the inner city to boost tourism and increase footfall to the local economy of the area is an excellent idea. We cannot have the country plundered and literally raped by developers for their own profits. We need to have cultural quarters. We need to have areas like this preserved, protected and maintained. We need a living city for our famous and renowned song, dance and poetry agus stair. We see today the impact on our heritage with the practice in any village of a fete being banned. We are one of only three countries in the world in this position. Saudi Arabia and North Korea are the others. My goodness, I did not think we would be trampling to get to the top of that line.

We need to recognise where we came from with regard to our rich heritage. We need to have it. It is great to have historians to write about it but we need to have living memory.

This is an excellent Bill by Deputy Ó Snodaigh. I do not know what position the Government is taking on it but I would not be surprised either way. As someone said, there is a different position every day depending on the weather forecast and what way the wind is blowing. The Rural Independent Group supports this legislation wholeheartedly.

I took a stroll outside two weeks ago with Deputy Collins. We went down the back near Sheriff Street. We saw the residents down there. They are living people. I am not talking about history and heritage - they are living. They have been swallowed up by greed, developers, hotels, and apartments. Their lives have been ruined. When they saw us walking, they knocked on windows and asked whether we would wait and talk to them. I spoke to a lovely gentleman. He explained that he got little support from any political party when it came to stopping the madness that went on with houses. We are in the country and we try to get planning for a house but there may be problems if a development is overshadowing another house or if it is in any way affecting the views. These people have been swallowed up. We expect them to live in those conditions. It is a scandal and should not be happening so we are supporting this legislation.

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