Dáil debates

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

5:40 pm

Photo of Pat GallagherPat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Question No. 60 is in the name of Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan. Permission has been given to Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív to take it.

Photo of Maureen O'SullivanMaureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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60. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when she will bring the memorandum to Cabinet relating to the report of the Moore Street consultative group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27357/17]

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister will be aware that there was much controversy about the Moore Street site. A committee was established and it made recommendations in March on how Moore Street should be developed in the future. The Minister has now set up a new committee. Has she brought a memorandum to the Cabinet, or when is it proposed to bring a memorandum to Cabinet, in order that a decision can be made by the Government on foot of the Moore Street report prepared by the previous committee and so this issue can be brought forward?

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I have already recorded in the House my sincere appreciation to the members of the group for the report entitled, The Moore Street Report - Securing History, that it presented to me at the end of March.

The Moore Street consultative group which was independently chaired by a former departmental Secretary General included local and Oireachtas political representatives, 1916 relatives, street traders and other stakeholders. It was set up in a bid to bring together the full range of views on the matter. In this regard the group reviewed numerous presentations and submissions from a range of interests, looked at a variety of official and other reports, interviewed relevant public officials and other experts and examined a large body of work from within its own membership. That extensive programme of work culminated in the series of recommendations contained in the report.

It is welcome that the report is seeking a way forward based on consensus. I believe its recommendations can help breathe new life into the area, while at the same time retaining its sense of history and tradition.

In addition to its particular association with the 1916 Rising, there are other relevant aspects of the street and the surrounding area that need to be taken into account, including the range of State, public and private property holdings and ownership and, of course, the presence of the street traders themselves, who do so much to give the area its unique place in the life of our capital city.

The report examines carefully all these elements, and I am pleased that it signals the potential for a successful outcome to be agreed between the relevant parties, balancing the perspectives of all the key stakeholders. I am fully supportive of this collaborative approach and I want to see the work already done being continued so that we can progress to the next stage and see tangible results on the ground. Critical to this has been the establishment of the new advisory group, which the report itself identities as the most effective ay to move forward with its recommendations. As the Deputy is aware, I have now proceeded with the setting up of this group under the chairmanship of Dr. Tom Collins. The group has already met and embarked on the task of looking at how best to implement the recommendations. I am happy that this ongoing process represents the best approach to achieving an optimal outcome for the Moore Street area. This will involve extensive discussion, negotiation and agreement with, and actions by, a variety of public and private bodies. The process is being supported by my Department, and I am looking forward to seeing positive outcomes from the interactions between the various parties.

5:50 pm

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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When I was a Minister and a draft reply was telling a Deputy what he already knew, I put a line through it and said it was not what the Deputy was asking about. I said the Deputy was looking for information and was entitled to get it in the House. I am not blaming the Minister but just giving him a little bit of advice for when he moves to his new Department. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan, no more than myself, and Deputies Peadar Tóibín and Joan Burton were on the committee. We know all about the committee and the report. As we actually were involved in writing the report, giving us a long spiel about what was in it and what the committee did and did not do is dodging the issue.

I accept that the Minister set up a new committee but what we want to know is whether the Government has accepted the recommendations in the report. What will it do about them? Will the Minister bring a memo to the Cabinet to have a formal decision endorsing the report? Is it intended to transfer responsibility for 14-17 Moore Street, the national monument, from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to the OPW?

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Minister does appreciate the Deputy's support in this. He has been very helpful in regard to what is happening at Moore Street. The report, as the Deputy knows, has been published on the Department's website for everybody to see. The new group has been set up and it is chaired by Dr. Tom Collins. I am told the progress to date has been very positive. The committee will examine how to bring this to a conclusion. The Deputy knows this is very complex. Everybody had to be talked to and brought on board. The Deputy knows this is a very sensitive issue. It is one on which a lot of progress has been made. The Minister has set up the group and has consulted the Deputy and everybody else. I am sure that at a later stage, she will fill the Deputy in on exactly what is happening. All I can say for now is that the Minister set up the working group. It is in place and we have to await its recommendations.

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I do not know what to say because it is quite funny to hear the Minister telling me what the committee did. Three of us here were on the committee and we know what we did. What we want to know is what the Government will do. The Minister might just give one little, simple piece of information today. I accept that the Minister is standing in. I see the Secretary General of the Department is present. She might be able to slip the Minister a note. Will the Minister tell us whether a decision has been made to transfer responsibility for 14-17 Moore Street from the Department to the Office of Public Works which normally handles heritage and national monuments? I seek a simple "Yes" or "No" answer.

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I will get the Department to drop the Deputy a line on that matter. As he knows, I have only filled in for the Minister.

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is doing a great job.

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I will get the Department to drop a line to the Deputy this evening.

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that it is unfair to ask a rural Minister about something in Moore Street in Dublin.

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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No, but I believe it is unfair to be handed the files two minutes before coming in.