Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ar dtús báire, gabhaim buíochas leis na cainteoirí ar fad sa díospóireacht seo. Bhí an méid a dúirt siad maith agus thacaigh sé leis an méid a bhí le rá agam féin maidir le Sráid an Mhúraigh.

I welcome what has been said by most of the contributors, the support they have shown and supportive and positive comments they have made. Some have highlighted the scandalous planning decisions associated with this area and the cultural vandalism of the State in the past. The questionable role of NAMA and its officials in many of the projects has also been raised. The Committee of Public Accounts might find a way to look at NAMA's Project Jewel and the fact that one NAMA official who was centrally involved in the Moore Street transaction left NAMA to head Hammerson Ireland, the company that is seeking to destroy parts of the 1916 fabric.

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, apologised to me last night for the fact that he was unable to be here for the debate and told me he was not opposing the Bill. I welcome his commitment and that of the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to work constructively to ensure that any potential policy, legal and financial issues contained in the Bill are addressed. I have put forward the Bill and I have been around here long enough to understand that it is not the Bill that will be before us at the end of the process.

I also welcome the support for the Bill from, in particular, the traders and retailers on the street. They do not want the Hammerson plan and do not have faith in the company. They support my Bill's intention to establish a cultural quarter with homes above the shops, not another Temple Bar. They have not been bought by the pie-in-the-sky job figures that were mentioned earlier or the promise of a metro sometime, somewhere, or the footfall figures based on a golden era of shopping malls that has long passed. That era will not continue post pandemic.

I want people to take the time to imagine a lively street with shops, market stalls, street entertainers, cafés, music, galleries, butchers, bakers, bookshops, corner shops, our national monument buildings and the historic experience associated with them. That is the intention of my Bill. We have an opportunity here. If that opportunity is lost by allowing Hammerson to develop, we will be doing a disservice to our historical culture. Just in case the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, is not aware of the fact, the decade of centenaries committee has not met for years and the Moore Street advisory group, MSAG, is not likely to support the Hammerson plan. In fact, quite the opposite is likely if it takes a position on this matter at all. I thank Deputies for taking part in the debate.

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