Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)

It is fair to say that on the watch of this Government O'Connell Street and the surrounding area have definitely been neglected. I am sick and tired of Government representatives giving out about Dublin city, running the capital down and hiding their jewellery when they walk down Talbot Street. We see them.

The answer to how the Government treat O'Connell Street and the surrounding area is investment and respect. That is what we should see from the Government. It has run down the capital city for too long. Our revolutionary history is important to us in Sinn Féin, the people who have joined us in the Gallery and the people watching this debate. If it is not important to the Government, then shame on it.

Does the Minister of State think it is acceptable to roll his eyes, shake his head and smirk? It is not because when the mask slips with the Government, it slips all the way down to its ankles and we see exactly what it is that it has planned. The breathtaking ignorance of our history on display from the Government is shameful. I would have thought the Government might have learned something after its plans to celebrate the Black and Tans, but it turns out that lessons learned is something the Government says but which does not have any meaning, as we see from its latest stunt which is more of the same, namely ignorant revisionism from a Government that seems almost ashamed of Dublin's revolutionary past.

I am proud of our capital city, proud to be a Dub and proud of the 1916 rebels. How the Government treats the GPO is a measure of its respect for our history. Commercialisation of the GPO will not be tolerated. It is not what the task force recommended and it is not what people want. We want an end to State-supported dereliction of our capital city. My colleague, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, has put forward a plan to create a 1916 cultural quarter. The Government should scrap its amendment and engage with us on our plans for a vibrant city centre.

If the Government presses ahead with its plan, this disgraceful proposal will be resisted and met with strong resistance from people who are proud of our history and ashamed of what the Government is proposing. It might be okay for the Government to stick a Starbucks, McDonald's or something like that in the area, and the Minister of State can shake his head, but the Government is leaving the door open to do exactly that. The Government should shut that down. Deputy McAuliffe will get his chance to speak.

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