Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for raising this. As she is aware, the future of the historical houses at 14 to 17 Moore Street has been fraught with difficulty over the years. A significant amount of time and effort has been devoted by a large number of people, organisations, the State and volunteers to try to resolve some of the issues so we can make progress. There have been a number of entities involved in this issue over the past several years, including the relatives, the Moore Street stallholders, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Dublin City Council, just to name a few who have been focused on both the historical aspects of the site and the regeneration of the local area for the local community. The Government has rightly had a focus on allowing all the parties to debate the issues and contribute to the solution. We are pleased that positive conclusions have been reached and forward momentum is now possible.

Having considered all the issues involved and having consulted extensively all the relevant stakeholders through the Moore Street advisory group process, the Government has decided most recently to proceed with a scheme of works to create the commemorative centre at 14 to 17 Moore Street and has instructed the Office of Public Works, OPW, to manage the project. While the OPW has been curating the site since it was requested by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to become involved in 2018 and 2019, our work up to this point has been simply to keep the monument safe and secure until a decision could be made about its future. We are happy that this process has been successful, that there has been a resolution of the issues that were proving contentious and that the project is now moving forward.

In the short term, our focus is on the Phase 1 works which are required to stabilise these very fragile structures and create the platform for the provision of the commemorative centre and visitor experience within them as a second stage. As I indicated recently in the Dáil, my officials in the OPW are currently making arrangements to resource the project properly and to put the necessary supports in place to make a substantive start. The work will be overseen by an expert technical team in the OPW led by our assistant principal architect and head of conservation in Dublin and including others within the OPW heritage services division with direct experience of creating and managing appropriate commemorative projects such as the Kilmainham Gaol Museum and the new visitor facilities at Pearse Cottage in Connemara.

This core OPW team of conservation specialists and project managers will be supplemented through the appointment of additional external technical services teams, including architects, engineers and cost specialists, who will help us to manage the project. The OPW hopes to conclude the relevant formalities with these professionals within the next three to four weeks and will expect to be in a position to make formal appointments immediately thereafter, enabling us to get started on the design preparation works that have to be done before contractors can be engaged and work commenced on the site.