Seanad debates
Tuesday, 17 May 2022
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
National Monuments
2:30 pm
Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I thank the Cathaoirleach and Seanad for facilitating this Commencement matter seeking a commencement date for construction of a commemorative site at the national monument on Moore Street. As everyone knows, Moore Street is the most historic trading street in the city. It is the birthplace of our Republic. Despite being rich in history beyond anyone's dreams or what anyone could imagine, the street has been dominated by dereliction, neglect and antisocial behaviour for far too many years. I was first elected to Dublin City Council in 2004. From even before that time I have worked with relatives, street traders and those who owned properties on the street to encourage the State, in the form of the city council, the Government and all the national bodies, to support the regeneration of the street and its market yet create an adequate and appropriate a commemorative centre at 14 to 17 Moore Street. I have served on a number of committees and far too many to remember. In fact, it is too depressing to think about that. There have been far too many reports with the latest report being delivered to the Minister of State more than a year ago. It was the third report from the third ministerial advisory committee on Moore Street. So there has been plenty of talking and consideration given to this issue. There is no doubt that there is enormous support for a proper commemoration of the historic events that took place on Moore Street. The report made six recommendations but, more specifically, it made a recommendation on the national monument. The report specifically endorsed the concept that was proposed by the Irish Heritage Trust that would require State bodies such as the Office of Public Works, OPW, and the National Monuments Service to be engaged to create an imaginative, fitting and appropriate commemorative museum.
Ireland has many examples of great commemorative sites of which we can be very proud but it is shameful the neglect that the State has allowed to take hold on Moore Street. It is unacceptable. Everybody appreciates that the majority of the properties in and around the historic site are privately owned. However, it is impossible for us to be critical of the private owners and the neglect that they have presided over when the State has failed to take adequate action. The State must stop dithering, delaying and ignoring the dereliction and deterioration of an historic national monument that is located in the heart of our capital city. The monument is not just for us in Dublin central or in Ireland; it is for all of the Irish people who descend from our Republic. I ask the Minister of State to please give us a commencement date for works at the national monument and let us accelerate whatever works can be done because the dereliction that is taking place is shameful.
Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank the Senator for her Commencement matter. I also thank her for the positive interactions and work that she has done on this issue over many years. I say that because not all of the contributions towards Moore Street have been entirely positive. We want to progress this project and I appreciate the leadership that she has consistently shown concerning a national monument at Moore Street.
Shortly after I was appointed I visited the monument at 14 to 17 Moore Street. Having been allowed entry into the buildings, they were really quite stunning. Even in its raw current state, and some enabling works have taken place, the project is impressive. It is critically important that this important story of our history is told and I agree with the Senator wholeheartedly that we need to move the project forward and not just the national monument but the regeneration of that entire part of the city. I am not from Dublin and I saw the street for the first time in quite a number of years. I was shocked to see the deterioration that had taken place in that part of the city and it is incumbent on us all to move forward.
In March 2021, €121,285,388 was allocated to Dublin City Council in respect of the north inner city concept area 1 under call 2 of the urban regeneration and development fund. The north inner city project involves the regeneration and redevelopment of several areas of the north inner city that have experienced a degree of decline and dereliction over a number of years resulting in poor perception issues and a depiction of an area that the market has been largely forgotten. The main objective of this project is to achieve long-term sustainable regeneration and redevelopment of various areas centred around the fruit and vegetable market, Parnell Square and Mountjoy Square. Complementary projects include Moore Street public realm renewal works, with the intention of reactivating one of the most important trading streets in the city, along with structural and restoration works on the national monument at 14 to 17 Moore Street. Works on the national monument, which is in State ownership, will facilitate the protection and reuse of these historic buildings as an iconic heritage and visitor attraction in the form of a 1916 commemorative centre alongside the rejuvenation of the historic street. The regeneration of Moore Street market and the street is a matter for Dublin City Council, and I am assured that an expert advisory group was appointed in that regard.
The Moore Street advisory group, of which the Senator was a valued member, recommended in its report to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and me last year that the process embarked on by the OPW and the national monuments service of our Department to restore the national monument and open it up to the public as soon as possible should continue. Officials from the Department and the OPW have been liaising to progress that. I understand the OPW is in the process of appointing a team to carry out phase 1 essential works to the monument, which will ensure stability and provide a pathway for the phase 2 completion works at the monument. I understand this is imminent and I hope to make an announcement in the coming weeks. The Senator will, I am sure, appreciate that the Minister and I are keen that those essential works commence as soon as possible.
We will make an announcement in the coming weeks. It is our intention to begin this essential phase of the works. That will be most welcome as the wider issue of the regeneration of the Moore Street area and central Dublin needs to be addressed. I am confident we will move forward very shortly.
Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I refer to the €121 million in urban regeneration funding for the north inner city quarter to regenerate places such as the fruit and vegetable market. It is absolutely shameful that the market is still closed. There is the promise of a city library on Parnell Square. The most basic thing in a capital city is a decent city library. All of that is really welcome and reflects the Government's understanding of the need in the area. I welcome that the OPW has indicated it will imminently commence works on the national monument at 14 to 17 Moore Street, but we need the OPW to keep to that commitment, to actually deliver and to demonstrate within the coming weeks that works will commence on the national monument. The Minister of State is absolutely correct that if the State were to demonstrate its commitment to the street and a real regeneration of the national monument site in the form of a commemorative museum, it would be a vote of confidence not just in our history but also in the future of Moore Street. It would be a vote of confidence in the street traders and all the businesses in the area and would demonstrate that this Government, unlike previous ones, will actually deliver in a respectful way for our history. I look forward to that. The Minister of State is welcome to Moore Street any time. I ask him to come down as soon as he can so we can see commencement of the works.
Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I would certainly take the Senator up on that invitation. It is an area of the city that is, as she said, hugely important not only historically but also culturally, given the new communities that are part of inner city Dublin now. It is critical to traders and everybody else involved to have that certainty. I can say with certainty from our perspective in respect of the national monument and the work on which we are engaging with the OPW that we will be in a position to move very soon on that. I cannot give a specific date but, certainly, that is our commitment and we are determined to see it through. The report of the Moore Street advisory group, of which the Senator was a part, presented to us by Dr. Tom Collins, was a very good one and it was universally accepted as the way forward. Further to that, Dublin City Council needs to move on its commitment to the wider regeneration of central Dublin, a hugely important area of the city. That would be critical for communities. We talk about town centres first. This is the town centre of Dublin and it has been left too long. We need to move on it.
Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Senator Fitzpatrick, for raising that issue yet again.