Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome and I thank him for coming in to take this Commencement matter in which I seek a date from his Department for the appointment of a design team for the national monuments site at Nos. 14-17 Moore Street. It is more than 106 years since the 1916 rebels, including Pearse, McDermott, Connolly and Plunkett, surrendered on Moore Street here in the heart of our capital. It is more than 15 years since those buildings were declared a national monument site by a Fianna Fáil-led government in 2007.

Since I was first elected as a city councillor in Dublin city, I have worked with relatives, traders on the street and with my own colleagues at the city council not just to protect but to seek restoration and commemoration also on that site. Most recently, over a year ago, with others I was part of the latest ministerial advisory group which reported back in May 2021. Our report, The Moore Street Report Securing History 3, made practical, pragmatic and deliverable recommendations.Included in the recommendations were the establishment of an expert group for the market and, most importantly, the endorsement of the Irish Landmark Trust proposal for the restoration and management of the national monument and for the operation of that monument. We were really bolstered by the allocation by the Government of €12 million in urban regeneration funding for the national monument. I do not know if the Minister of State has been down to Moore Street recently, but it is shameful. It is heartbreaking for the traders and for the relatives. It is heartbreaking for anybody who cares about our history and our State and for anybody who visits it.

I hope the Minister of State will provide us with a date for the appointment of a design team. When the State neglects such important history and fails to take action not just to protect and restore but also to commemorate and celebrate our brave heroes whose actions led to the republic we enjoy today, it is shameful. I hope the Minister of State has a date for us today and the work will commence soon. I look forward to his reply.