Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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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.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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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.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. Am I to understand from the reply that a design team will be appointed within the next three to four weeks? I hope that is what he is saying because there is genuine bewilderment as to what is happening. It is over a year since the report was submitted. The recommendations were accepted and endorsed, and they have been backed with €12 million of public funding. I hope the Minister of State is saying that a design team of experts will be appointed within the next three to four weeks and that we will see work commence.

I have been in those buildings over the last number of years. They are old buildings. Sure, they need care and sensitive treatment, but their fragility is not to be used as an excuse. They are precious and they need to be preserved and commemorated. However, as long as they are left there idle it is just adding to dereliction and making the job of the city council, the city traders, the relatives and the citizens of the city so much harder to regenerate and occupy that street in a positive way.

In the city council, I chaired the expert group for the future of the market on it. The city council advertised and received one reply. Only one operator would tender to trade and operate a market on the most prestigious market street in our country. That reflects the lack of confidence there is in Moore Street at present. That is an all-time low. It is something we cannot tolerate or support. We cannot allow it to drift. I hope the Minister of State can confirm that within the next month a technical team will be assigned and works will commence.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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What I can confirm is what I said already, which is that the OPW has been involved in this for the last three years, two of which were locked down with Covid-19. I can also confirm that this has been fraught with issues. The most important thing we have to do now is stabilise the buildings because if we do not, given our experience of doing work on the Four Courts, the Custom House, Kilmainham Gaol and other important buildings across Dublin, they could be at risk of further erosion or worse. The first and most important priority for the technical expertise in the OPW is to make sure there is no substantive further damage done to those buildings, and we have a good history in that regard.

With regard to an earlier comment the Senator made, the OPW has no intention of neglecting its role in this. It has a very proud history with national monuments. The Senator is quite right that the wider issue around Moore Street and O'Connell Street is a matter for the local authority. I was there two weeks ago and what I saw did not fill me with confidence. O'Connell Street is a show and the streets off it are not much better. It is festooned with plastic and everything that should be taken down. The local authority is failing in its duty to look after the principal street in the capital city of the country. Our role, to be honest, will show up the neglect that has been led by the local authority.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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Please do.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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However, I would not stand here and suggest that the OPW has been anything other than respectful to the monument and all the associated monuments. We will look after them. The role of the market, the associated street infrastructure and so forth are primarily matters for Dublin City Council. I have to say, having walked there less than a fortnight ago, I was less than inspired.