Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome. I am pleased to speak on the Moore Street Area Renewal and Development Bill 2015 and generally about Moore Street. I feel as if I grew up in Moore Street because during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Moore Street was very much part of my life and my culture. I remember being dragged into town by my dear mother to F.X. Buckley to get the steaks for our Sunday dinner or our turkey for Christmas. I remember at Christmas time my father, who worked for Breen Electrical, putting up the Christmas lights on Moore Street and Henry Street. As a young teenager I worked on a truck in the fruit markets on the other side of Capel Street and I used to wheel the fruit dollies down to the traders. I even bought the bangers there at Hallowe'en on the odd occasion. Moore Street was the heart of Dublin and the location of the oldest fruit, vegetable and fish market. It is a landmark. The fruit and vegetable stalls were fantastic, and one always enjoyed the Dublin wit and friendly welcome one would receive on each visit. There was always a Molly Malone feeling about Moore Street.

I decided to take a walk to Moore Street earlier in preparation for this debate. The sun was shining. The area was packed with people walking up and down from Grafton Street, Westmoreland Street and O'Connell Street. They were happy, drinking their coffees and chatting away. There was a great sense of peace and freedom among the people we passed. As I walked along the battlefield trail from the GPO, along Henry Street, and then turned right turn onto Moore Street, I noted it is vastly different now from what it was in 1916, and even 1966, when I first visited the area.The properties at Nos. 14 to 17, including No. 16, have dilapidated rooms. On the facade it states "Éirí Amach na Cásca 1916", or Easter Rising 1916. Beneath the signage there are crumbling walls and pigeons were flying in and out through shattered windows. The shutters were down but on the cobblestone street, people were vibrantly walking around.

There are fewer Dubliners around there today than there have been and it seems to be the melting pot of our society in Dublin. There are people of many nationalities from around the world, of different races and creeds. Nevertheless, the fruit, vegetables and fish stalls remain with the Dubs. Looking at the terraced buildings along Moore Street, one would be quite proud of the history witnessed there all those years ago. The only thing out of sync in Moore Street is the Ilac Centre and Lidl. Having read through the Bill today, it seems the main objectives are unclear with regard to compliance with the current Dublin city development plan process and the objectives for the inner city area.

As far as I am aware, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, is concerned about this. Her responsibility is for the national monument between Nos. 14 and 17 Moore Street, and particularly No. 16, the location of the final council of war of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. These premises, commanded by Pádraig Pearse, along with James Connolly, Tom Clarke, Joseph Plunkett, Seán MacDermott and Michael Collins, were surrendered to the British forces. The house at No. 16, together with the surrounding buildings, Nos. 14, 15 and 17, were declared a national monument by the Government in 2007. This area has been referred to as Ireland's Alamo, or the birthplace of the Republic. In March this year, the Minister announced that the Government is to acquire the national monument. A 1916 commemorative centre is to be developed at the site and there are plans under way to safeguard and fully restore the buildings as a public historical facility, with access for citizens and tourists. Only yesterday evening, Dublin City Council voted to protect five more buildings along this battlefield trail, so we can see that people are quite conscientious about preserving the area around Moore Street.

Fianna Fáil is proposing in this Bill that the Government should set up a development company for the Moore Street areas. I have a bit of a problem with this. Fianna Fáil has been in power for the majority of the time since 1916 and, in looking to set up Moore Street Renewal Limited, do the party's members not recall the similar moves for Temple Bar and the Dublin docklands? The Temple Bar Cultural Trust had to be dissolved over concerns about financial irregularities, and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority folded after a report containing damning findings, one of which related to the decision in 2006 to become involved in the purchase of the Irish Glass Bottle site. The DDDA was found to have very weak corporate governance, resulting in the loss of value for the taxpayer.

Fianna Fáil should know that this approach does not work. Why does it want to create another quango for the Moore Street area? How much would these plans cost the taxpayer? The Government's policy is to devolve more responsibility to local authorities and not to take power from them. This ensures efficiencies in the delivery of public services and more value for money for the taxpayer. The Government has every confidence in Dublin City Council, which already has ongoing plans under way to reinvent and rejuvenate the Moore Street area, in consultation with the street traders. This consultation is very important, as they are a symbolic and intrinsic part of the character of Dublin.

The future of the national monument buildings referred to on Moore Street has been secured and they will be accessible in order that everyone can learn the history of the 1916 Rising. This Fianna Fáil Bill has no basis because the establishment of a new limited company is unnecessary and would take responsibility from the local authority. Funding for these development companies would have to come from central government funds. That would not work and it would end up costing the taxpayers. We want to protect the buildings and find the right way forward. Next year we will celebrate the centenary of the 1916 Rising and, unfortunately, as I walked away from the area today, I said that something must be done. We cannot afford to get this wrong. I watched cheerful people going by in a happy-go-lucky fashion. I thought that I should finish by saying this freedom in Ireland is what our forefathers fought for. We need to preserve Moore Street but we need to get that process right. This Bill does not do that.