Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Vice Chairman of the Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, I welcome the decision of the Government to allow the Bill to progress to the committee, where we can discuss it in context with the advisory group report. I thank the Moore Street campaign and the proposers of the Bill because it does reflect the ambition of the Bill which I drafted in 2015 with the then Senator, now Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, supported by Deputy Ó Cuív and Senator Fitzpatrick. The Minister has already put his money where his mouth is by allocating €12 million to the regeneration of the street, the commemorative centre and supporting the traders. That builds on the decision by the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, former Deputy Dick Roche, to designate it a national monument and the decision of the previous Government to take it into public ownership.

I ask that Members work together on this issue. We can deliver a world-class centre on this site. I ask that we do not divide on the issue. Some of the comments made during the debate today were false and incorrect. I refer in particular to Deputy Munster stating that the national monument is being handed over to a private company. In fact, the exact opposite is happening. I think the record should be protected. When we are standing at the opening alongside Deputy Munster, she will have been proved wrong and we will have delivered for the people of Ireland.

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