Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I call on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to come to the House to have a wider debate around the issue of protecting our built heritage. Yesterday a developer pulled down The O'Rahilly House in Ballsbridge, despite the city council voting to give it protection by listing it on the record of protected structures. From my understanding, once a local authority moves to put something on the record of protected structures it enjoys the protection of that act until an assessment is made.

I want to draw the attention of the House to other houses and buildings around Dublin which are not getting adequate protection to protect our built heritage. The city council did a deal in respect of the Iveagh Markets 20 years ago, which has been massively frustrated by the developer and publican who has done nothing with the building. An Taisce has it on a list of the top ten endangered listed buildings. The building is overgrown, there is extensive water damage and it has essentially been used as a car park for a publican from Temple Bar, despite it being in the middle of the Liberties. It can be a great addition to the city. It is a former dry market. The developer is deliberately running the building down and causing damage. Aldborough House, the second-largest Georgian building after Leinster House, has been left to rot for 20 years. It is water damaged and its owner allowed it to be run down.

I moved to have the former Player Wills factory on the South Circular Road put on the record of protected structures and it was voted on by the area committee in 2018. The city council has not moved on that, despite putting other buildings onto the record of protected structures. It is of great historical significance and is significant in terms of the industrial heritage of the city. The developer Hines has bought it and said it would keep the first three bays of the building. It now says it will take the whole building in, but it will not enjoy the protection of the record of protected structures. There is a list of protected buildings in the city and country, yet people are deliberately allowing them to fall into dereliction. I ask that the Minister come to the House to talk about that issue.

I had a Commencement matter about the flu vaccine programme and whether we have an adequate supply of the vaccine going into the winter season.