Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Like many people in the country, I have welcomed the decision to designate Nos. 14 to 18 Moore Street as a national monument. This happened after a long campaign initiated by the National Graves Association and which has been carried on since by the Save 16 Moore Street group. The intention was to save the last headquarters of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. That was No.16 Moore Street but the adjoining buildings were deemed to be equally important, and Nos. 14 to 17 all played a significant part in the foundation of this State.

In March this year property developer Joe O'Reilly, who headed up a development consortium called the Carlton consortium, secured planning permission for the development of the Carlton cinema site in the heart of Dublin. He now has seven years to carry out the development but as many of us know, a number of Mr. O'Reilly's business loans with Irish banks have recently been scheduled for NAMA. I presume they will be transferred in the near future so there is a question over the capability of Mr. O'Reilly to carry out the development as approved.

The site for which the Carlton consortium has obtained planning permission includes most of the block at the upper half of O'Connell Street as it fronts to Henry Street, including Moore Street and O'Rahilly Parade, and then as it fronts to Parnell Street. It includes the national monument at Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street, with permission granted for development subject to 31 conditions, some of which relate to the conversion of No. 16 Moore Street.

Others relate to the demolition of some of the surrounding buildings and to some of the fabric of No.16 and Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. I find myself in agreement with the great-grandson of James Connolly, Jim Connolly Heron, who is a mainstay of the campaign to save Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street and who stated that the planning application proposed the partial demolition of Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. The developer has been asked to include the 1916 elements in the development, which would highlight the retreat route from the GPO back to the houses in Moore Street. However, it appears as though the only part of the planning permission granted that relates to the commemoration of the 1916 Rising is the planned museum in No. 16 Moore Street, which the developer was originally obliged to provide anyway prior to the planning permission. Consequently, it appears as though the developer now plans to demolish the entire original fabric of the building, thereby leaving only the shell of Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street, with the exception of No. 16. It appears as though we could end up with the shell of a national monument with the other surrounding yard areas totally demolished.

I believe the site from Nos. 14 to 17 should be developed by, or under the direct supervision of, bodies such as the National Museum, the Office of Public Works or the Heritage Council and in accordance with the recommendations of the Shaffrey report, which was commissioned by Dublin City Council and paid for by the people of Dublin. I ask the Minister of State to study the aforementioned report.

Approximately 30 years ago, we buried the Viking and medieval history of Dublin at Wood Quay. I hope we do not do the same with this site, which was pivotal to our own recent history and the foundation of the State. The centenary of the 1916 Rising is only six years away and it is time for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, who has responsibility for national monuments to produce his plans for the two national monuments that are associated with the rising in the centre of Dublin, namely, the GPO and Moore Street. I hope to hear his plans for at least one of the aforementioned national monuments this evening.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I thank Deputy Costello for raising this matter. As the Deputy is aware, in January 2007 the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government placed a preservation order on Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street under section 8 of the National Monuments Act 1930, as amended. The preservation order was made on the grounds that the buildings are a monument, the preservation of which is of national importance by reason of their historical importance as the final headquarters of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. The objective of the preservation order is to protect the monument from any danger of being destroyed, injured or removed. The effect of a preservation order is that any works affecting these properties, including any excavation or ground disturbance within, around or in proximity to them, require the prior written consent of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government under the National Monuments Acts. The Minister is statutorily obliged to consult with the director of the National Museum as part of the consent process. It is an offence for anyone to damage, injure, remove or carry out, or cause or permit, work affecting the monument without the Minister's written consent.

I am aware that An Bord Pleanála has made a decision to grant permission, with conditions, for a mixed development on this site that includes the national monument. This permission in no way supersedes the preservation order already in place and the consent of the Minister still will be required, in accordance with section 14 of the National Monuments Act 1930, for any works affecting the area covered by the order. While my Department currently is dealing with a consent application for minor works to protect and maintain the fabric of these buildings, to date no application for consent related to the proposed major development has been received.

The position is that notwithstanding the granting of planning permission, the protection in respect of Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street as a national monument remains in place and unchanged. I fully appreciate the historical significance of these buildings as the site of the last military actions of the 1916 Rising leaders, namely, Pearse, Connolly, Plunkett and MacDermott and I took the opportunity to look at the exterior and rear of the buildings last St. Patrick's Day. The leaders' actions and self-sacrifice, the centenary of which will be upon us in less than six years, laid the foundations for the establishment of the Irish State. I assure the Deputy that the appropriateness of any proposed works will be examined carefully against that historical background if and when a development-related consent application is submitted to my Department.