Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

Some time ago I raised the issue of the demolition of an historic 1916 building in Moore Street. I welcome the decision by the city council to ensure its retention and hope it is successful in that regard. There is, however, a broader issue involved. Who is entitled to make a decision that such a building can be demolished? I recall that the then Minister, Deputy de Valera, introduced legislation to ensure this could never happen again following a number of outrageous cases involving the demolition of buildings of historic significance. The point was made on a programme on UTV the other evening that we, in the Republic, were not particularly good at looking after our historic buildings. It would be helpful to debate the issue in this House. It may be necessary to set up a national body to ensure such decisions to demolish, such as the one regarding the building in Moore Street, are not made. That decision generated a great deal of publicity, both nationally and internationally. The Seanad could provide a lead in such a debate.