Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans for the Moore Street area in Dublin 1 in the wake of her announcement of 31 March 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16943/15]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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With just eight months to go before 2016, the question seeks to establish what the Government will be able to achieve with regard to the development of the Moore Street site and the national monument there. It acknowledges the fact that the State has correctly taken the property into ownership but seeks to establish what will be done about the birthplace of our republic between now and 2016.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My primary function in this case arises from the preservation order that was placed on Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street in 2007 under the National Monuments Acts and to protect No. 16 as the site of the final council of war and final headquarters of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. The area surrounding the Moore Street national monument is largely in private ownership and is not covered by the provisions of the National Monuments Acts. It is the subject of a grant of full planning permission by An Bord Pleanála. Dublin City Council has statutory responsibility under the planning and development legislation for all planning and development matters in the area. With regard to the national monument itself, the position is that the preservation order requires the consent of the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to be obtained for any works affecting the monument buildings. After extensive deliberations, ministerial consent was given to the owners in April 2014 for the creation of a 1916 commemorative centre in the monument buildings, involving the full repair and restoration of the structures, both internally and externally.

Proposals that subsequently went before Dublin City Council late last year would have allowed the exchange of two modern 1990s buildings at Nos. 24 and 25 Moore Street, currently used as a cleansing depot, in return for full ownership of Nos. 14 to 17 being transferred to the city council. The transfer would have been accompanied by NAMA funding to cover the full cost of the restoration project and the proposed commemorative centre. I was very disappointed that Dublin City Council members rejected these plans, which I believe provided a real opportunity to have the restoration work completed and the commemorative centre open in time for the centenary of the Rising in 2016.

To ensure the long-term future of the national monument, I have secured the approval of the Government for it to be acquired by the State. This will bring the national monument into public ownership and secure its long-term future. It will also facilitate the safeguarding and restoration of the buildings, and the development of the proposed 1916 commemorative centre to be run as a public facility. The Department and the other parties involved are working to bring these matters forward as speedily as possible and I will revert to the Government in the coming weeks with final proposals in this regard.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. There was a large share of agreement between us in the run-up to the decision of Dublin City Council. Regrettably, its decision changed everything and we are, as they say, where we are. In this respect the Minister's response is a little disappointing. Many people here have been signalling their concern over recent years that 2016 would come and we would not have done the redevelopment work essential to the critical site. Fianna Fáil has published, through the good offices of Senators Darragh O'Brien, Diarmuid Wilson and Mark Daly, the Moore Street Area Renewal and Development Bill 2015 modelled on the very successful Temple Bar development proposal. If the Minister is not in a position today to give us an indication of what will have happened at Moore Street by 2016 will she tell us she will accept the legislation which is aimed at achieving positive results for the area?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will appreciate some fundamental matters must be dealt with before there is any question of getting the work under way in Moore Street. He can be assured the intention is to have the restoration work completed and the commemorative centre up and running in the shortest possible time-frame. How long that will take I cannot say at present, but all options will be looked at with a view to delivering the project with a minimum of delay.

With regard to the proposed legislation mentioned, my remit under the National Monuments Acts is defined by the preservation orders of Nos. 14 to 17, Moore Street. Plans or proposals for the wider area outside the confines of the national monument site are the responsibility of Dublin City Council as the planning authority. Any legislative proposals for a new Temple Bar-type approach to the Moore Street area, as announced by Fianna Fáil, would be a matter for the Minister of the Environment, Community and Local Government under whose remit the matter falls.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has responsibility for heritage and we need her to be a leader and to drive forward these plans. It is not just a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government; it is a matter for the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to take a leadership role. My colleagues in the Seanad have brought forward this very positive proposed legislation, which is broad and all-encompassing in terms of the powers it would give to enable the site to be developed in the way it deserves to be developed. One of the difficulties we have now is that Chartered Land's plan, which the Minister supported and which I personally supported, was rejected but the Department had no plan B. We have arrived at this juncture with regard to the birthplace of our republic and the Government had no plan B with regard to what it would do if plan A went wrong, which it did. Now we will find that, in reality, nothing will be ready by Easter 2016 on Moore Street.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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To be clear, my role as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is to assess what is best for the national monument, and the national monument has been designated as Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. I do not have any powers under the National Monuments Acts to create an historic quarter in Moore Street. The properties around the national monument are in private ownership. They are not subject to my remit under the National Monuments Acts. The redevelopment plans for the area have received full planning permission from An Bord Pleanála. The good news is we have the building. I must bring a proposal to the Government to develop it. The proposed plans for the centre were fine and would have been a great facility in Moore Street. I have been there and it is very derelict. The proposed plans would have represented a tribute to the leaders.

I will bring a memo to Government. It is my intention that the work will commence as quickly as possible.