Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I raise this issue today because of concerns regarding the proposed auction of the Project Jewel loan portfolio now under the control of NAMA. It is my understanding that this portfolio includes the 1916 national monument, 14 to 17 Moore Street, situated in heart of the last extant 1916 battlefield. Can the Minister confirm if this is the case?

This site, which spans from 14 to 17 Moore Street has been described as the most important historic site in Irish history by the National Museum. Any continuing uncertainty regarding the future of this historic area is totally unacceptable to the relatives of the founding fathers of the nation as we approach the centenary of the Rising.

To sell it to private investors who will doubtless have little regard as to its significance beyond its commercial potential is unacceptable and an affront to Ireland's people and history. We must protect this battlefield site. The 1916 freedom quarter must be removed from the NAMA property portfolio. It cannot be allowed to become a shopping centre, as has been planned by Chartered Land. It must be respected for its historic and cultural significance, which far outweigh commercial gain. It is a key part of our history and heritage, yet NAMA has refused to meet the cross-party Oireachtas Moore Street committee members to discuss it. Has consideration been given to the implications the sale and any future work will have on the national monument? Is the €5 million set aside by NAMA for the restoration of the monument still available? Will the Minister of State confirm whether there has been any consultation with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht or the National Museum on the sale of this portfolio, known as Project Jewel, by NAMA?

Yesterday, the Oireachtas cross-party group, relatives and other stakeholders made a formal request to An Taoiseach for the protection of the 1916 national monument. As we move into the centenary of one of the most defining moments in Irish history, we are asking the Taoiseach and the Government to act swiftly and decisively to ensure our heritage is honoured appropriately.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Táimid buíoch go bhfuil an t-ábhar seo á phlé againn inniu toisc go bhfuil sé práinneach. For decades, the Moore Street site has been allowed to fall into neglect and dereliction. This is embarrassing, particularly with the centenary approaching next year. Nos. 14 to 17 have been designated a national monument. A figure of €5 million is floating around, but who costed the buildings? They form part of what the National Museum has called a battlefield site. It is our Gettysburg, our Alamo. Apart from the fact that the people from the GPO evacuated to those houses and Nos. 14 to 17 were the scene where they discussed a surrender, the surrounding streets saw the deaths of up to 2,000 people. There are stories on Henry Street, Henry Place, Moore Lane, Moore Street and the renamed O'Rahilly Parade. It is all a battlefield site.

In recent months, more than 10,000 signatures have been collected by volunteers every Saturday on Moore Street to save it. They belong to ordinary Dubs and others who come to shop on Moore Street. With its rich culture and history, they do not want to see it extinguished. It is in danger. The late Eamonn Mac Thomais used a great phrase: "Me jewel and darlin'". He did not have it in mind that Project Jewel would become part of selling off the area lock, stock and barrel.

Even though the area is designated one of special planning control and much of it is included in an architectural conservation area, there is a danger of the site being sold to sovereign funds from the Middle East, the Far East and elsewhere. There is a great deal of confidence that the sale will be of interest to the Blackstones of this world that have been buying up a range of distressed properties. Our group handed in a letter to the Taoiseach and copies were sent to every Minister. What responsibility will the Government take for this national monument and battlefield site? It is the guardian of our national monuments.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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I am aware of reports that NAMA is seeking buyers for the loans it holds in respect of the commercial entity that owns the Dublin central development site that includes the national monument at Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. Contrary to the impression being created by some of those reports, the fact is that it is loans and not properties for which NAMA is seeking expressions of interest. I am concerned that an entirely false picture is being painted about the sale of the national monument itself. It is being sold. However, the buyer is the State and not some banker or venture capitalist, the State that will safeguard and restore it to how it was in 1916, and the State that will develop a 1916 commemorative centre on the site as a solemn and fitting tribute to the 1916 leaders who held their final war council meeting there. This decision by the Government was made to bring the national monument into public ownership, secure its long-term future and complete the development of the proposed 1916 commemorative centre as quickly as possible. The Government's decision will not in any way be affected, delayed or otherwise impinged upon by any disposal of NAMA's loan books. The national monument site is being removed from the NAMA portfolio sale.

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Good.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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As part of the transfer of ownership to the State, all loans will be discharged over the monument site and all necessary licences and wayleaves will be put in place to carry out the national monument works.

I want to be as clear as I can in the hope that it will dispel the attempt at confusion and uncertainty that has always been the hallmark of certain parties that seem to be more anxious for nothing to happen than to see the monument properly restored and opened to the public. At the risk of repeating myself, the position is that the acquisition of Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht on behalf of the State is in progress and will, I expect, be completed shortly. What is more, the Minister made this clear in the House in the past two weeks in answer to several parliamentary questions from Deputy McLellan.

This is the clearest possible demonstration of the Government's commitment to acknowledge and mark the historical importance of the site in a positive and substantive way and to guarantee, secure and safeguard the long-term future of this historical landmark. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is actively engaged with the monument owners and other relevant parties to conclude the transfer of the property into State ownership as quickly as possible. This process is nearing completion. In common parlance, the sale is agreed.

The Minister is also considering the best way to restore the buildings in order for the commemorative centre, the plans for which are being developed in consultation with the 1916 Relatives Association, to open at the earliest possible date. The Minister has informed the House on innumerable occasions that her functions in this case arise from the preservation order that was placed in 2007 on Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street under the National Monuments Acts with the objective of protecting No. 16 as the site of the final council of war and final headquarters of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. The acquisition and restoration of the monument buildings by the State for the people is the clearest possible statement of how seriously the Government has taken this objective.

The commemorative centre to be housed in the restored monument buildings will be developed and run as a public facility that will enhance and complement the 1916 visitor facility being developed in the GPO from where the insurgents retreated to the Moore Street buildings. I look forward to it being completed and to seeing the public going through the doors in the centenary year of the most momentous events in our country's history.

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response, which I welcome. While he made it clear that the national monument was not part of Project Jewel, I still have concerns about the sale and the implication of future works in the surrounding area. I welcome the Minister of State's confirmation that the purchase of the national monument by the State is nearing completion. I hope that the completion date will be soon, as 2016 is fast approaching. Nos. 14-17 Moore Street and the surrounding area have been an issue in this Chamber since I was elected, and probably long before then. The national monument is a derelict site and a national disgrace. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is its guardian, so it is for her to protect it.

When and how will the €5 million be spent? Have the building structures and newly discovered cellars at the national monument been surveyed by suitably qualified experts? If not, when will that happen? Has consideration been given to extending the protection of national monument status to other 1916 buildings and structures identified by the Frank Myles-Shaffrey battlefield report as having direct links to the Rising? Will any restoration work take place prior to 2016 or will we still be looking at a derelict site?

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. More clarification on the figure of €5 million and how the restoration of Nos. 14 to 17 will be funded is required. The 10,000 plus signatures that I mentioned were more concerned with saving Moore Street than just Nos. 14 to 17. The street has been described as a battlefield site. I mentioned other stories. The Taoiseach described the area as the lanes of history, so the rest of the Moore Street site is of great importance. There is significant potential for an historical and cultural quarter linking the GPO, Moore Street, the Rotunda where the surrender occurred and the Parnell monument where the men lined up while waiting to be moved to Richmond Barracks, Kilmainham Gaol and the North Wall Quay to be taken off to the camp in Frongoch.

We still do not have an independent survey of the site. Our group in the Dáil asked for a meeting with NAMA. Deputy Wallace was told to go to NAMA with his issues, yet we could not get a meeting to address these issues.

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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No.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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What of the battlefield site, which was not covered in the Minister of State's answer?

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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I wish to emphasise that the Minister has no function in the operations of NAMA and has no role in the disposal of its loans or assets. The Minister's involvement in the Moore Street issue, as she has made clear countless times, arises from the preservation order that was placed in 2007 on Nos. 14 to 17 under the National Monuments Acts.

Any plans or proposals for the wider area outside the confines of the national monument are the responsibility of Dublin City Council as the planning authority. Redevelopment plans for the area have received full planning permission from An Bord Pleanála. The properties around the national monument are in private ownership. They are not subject to the Minister's remit under the National Monuments Acts.

The historical significance of the fundamentally intact building at No. 16 as the final headquarters of the 1916 Rising was the determining factor when the decision was taken to make the preservation order. These buildings are the only substantially authentic, original and intact pre-1916 buildings on the street. They are the only buildings that retain significant original elements that would have been there in 1916, including staircases, partitions, plaster work, doors, floors, fittings and fixtures. Above all, Nos. 14 to 17 also contain the physical evidence of the presence of the insurgents in the form of the openings broken through party walls as they tunnelled their way up the street. All of these elements are being retained, secured and permanently safeguarded as a result of the Government's decision to assume ownership of the national monument.

The Minister is pressing ahead as speedily as possible to acquire the site, carry out the restoration work and have the 1916 commemorative centre open to the public. I wish I had a better timeline for the Deputies, but I do not. I look forward to the day work gets started on the Moore Street project. All of our citizens can look forward with pride to the day it opens its doors to welcome the public as a fitting testament to the men and women of 1916 and what they fought for. There are more discussions to be had, not least with the traders who occupy the street and do their daily business there. Subject to agreement, we hope to have a wrap going around those four buildings in the very near future. This will be a solid indication of the Government's intention to establish a lasting monument to the sacrifices of those who fought that week and had their final meetings in this historic building.