Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Murphy for that. I also thank the Minister of State for attending this morning. This matter speaks to a very important development in my constituency of Dublin Central, in the heart of our capital city and the birthplace of our Republic. Moore Street is one of the country's oldest trading streets. It is one of the oldest commercial streets where people and families have traded for decades. It is also an historic site, not just from a commercial and trading perspective, but also from a political and social perspective. It lies adjacent to O'Connell Street and the GPO, the birthplace of our Republic and one of the sites of the 1916 Rising, which we recently commemorated. It was from the GPO that the leaders of the 1916 Rising evacuated Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. The buildings have been protected and were designated a national monument back in 2007.

As a city councillor, I worked for many years with the street traders, relatives of the 1916 Rising participants, property owners, the local authority, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and other stakeholders to try to realise, on that site, a 1916 commemorative museum. We have had many false dawns and this is the fourth time in this term that I have raised this issue in the Seanad. I raise it again today because there is deep disappointment and frustration with the lack of progress. Some time last year, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage assured this House that a design team had been appointed and that works would commence "within weeks". I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, is standing in for the Minister but we are now not weeks on but months on. In fact, we are into a whole new year. It is devastating to see the neglect of Moore Street and the national monument thereon but what is more frustrating and disappointing is the lack of energy or ambition to actually realise the potential to bring the street back to life again, to reanimate it as a trading street and also to bring to life the historic events of that street. Those historic events led to the birth of our Republic. There is such enormous potential for a 1916 commemorative museum on the national monument site at Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. It would link directly to the GPO museum. There is a direct historic path - the evacuation route - from the GPO, through Henry Place, down Moore Lane and into Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street.It is my hope that the Minister of State will advise the House on a commencement date for works to deliver a 1916 commemorative museum on Moore Street.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I am grateful to the Senator for raising this issue and for putting up with me responding to it. I do so enthusiastically, not just on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, but as someone who, like the Senator, is a true-blue Dub and is proud of our nation's history and who, like the Acting Chairman, is an historian by background and has spoken on this matter as a Senator.

When this issue was previously raised in the Chamber last November, my colleague and then Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, stated that work was proceeding to advance the nomination of a professional design team for the crucial first conservation phase of work. He further stated that given the complexities of the various procurement and legal issues surrounding the appointment of the companies involved, this work had been considerably delayed and he was unable to say with certainty when it might be concluded. On that occasion, Senator Fitzpatrick expressed deep frustration at the delay. In this, she reflected the feelings of many stakeholders, both in the area and more broadly across our country, who wish to move this vital project forward.

Having consulted again this week with officials in the Office of Public Works, OPW, they have assured me that matters have progressed in recent weeks and they have made significant strides in ironing out many of the issues that have delayed the project to date. The news I have to report to the Senator and the House this afternoon is much more positive than was the case in November. There has been a significant amount of contact between the OPW and the various parties in recent weeks to address relevant contractual matters. I understand these are close to being concluded satisfactorily. I expect that once a conclusion has been reached, the appointment of the relevant professional parties can be made. I look forward to having news on this shortly from the Minister and will be delighted to see the team put in place finally to progress the project.

The team to be appointed includes the critical individual professional disciplines, namely, conservation architects, mechanical and electrical services engineers, structural and civil engineers, quantity surveyors, archaeological consultants and fire safety engineers. I understand we should have news on the appointments very shortly, subject to some final administrative details being addressed. It is not envisaged that this process will cause any further delay in light of the efforts going on in the background.

There have been good contacts and meaningful exchanges between the OPW and the various parties involved to sort out all the complex and necessary details to bring this matter to a successful conclusion. Colleagues have developed a positive and honest relationship with the proposed team through these contacts. The project team in response will move forward quickly and will, I understand, meet formally upon appointment to begin work immediately. Its first task will be to set out the formal project programme and establish both short-term and longer-term targets for the individual disciplines in order that they can immediately thereafter begin substantive work.

The immediate target for the project team will be to review the position with regard to the project that was previously under way and was stopped by order of the court. Given the time that has elapsed, it will be critical to evaluate the design that was previously being implemented, consider whether anything has materially altered in the intervening period and, if necessary, make any changes that are appropriate. There may, for example, be changes needed to take account of amendments to the building regulations in the past few years, or there may have been changes to the structure of the houses themselves that need to be examined. Any material changes will have to be discovered as soon as possible and their implications assessed and planned for.

Adherence to the national monuments ministerial consent process is a critical part of this analysis. We must ensure at all times that the parameters for the project that were set out in the court process are fully observed and any changes deemed necessary are fully explained and documented. Once this process has been done, which will take approximately six to eight weeks, the team will immediately move forward into the detailed design phase, which is necessary to move to tendering for the main capital works project, including the appointment of a main contractor to undertake the physical works to the site. That will lead to a commencement, the date of which, unfortunately, I cannot share with the Senator this afternoon. If I could do so, I would. When we know the date, it will be conveyed to her at the earliest opportunity.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I appreciate that this issue is not one of his portfolio responsibilities and I am grateful to him for giving of his time to address it. I acknowledge the importance he places on national monuments and the historic heritage of our capital city. I welcome that a multidisciplinary professional team, including architects and conservationists, is being appointed. It is encouraging to hear the work will commence and that it will be comprehensive, sensitive and ambitious.

However, it is hard at this point, so long into the process and after hearing so many promises, to have much confidence in there being any firm timeline for action. In fact, the Minister of State was not provided with such a timeline before coming here today.That indicates to anybody listening or taking an interest that there is no confirmed timeline. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could go back to the OPW and express to it the deep disappointment of this House, all the stakeholders in the national monument, the wider community and anyone who has any interest in our heritage, and if he could ask it to bring forward a date for the commencement of works as soon as possible.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Senator that what I have laid out is a detailed process that has to be and will be followed by the Government and all the various stakeholders to realise this crucial project. While it does not include specific dates, it includes clear objectives that need to be met. If we were dealing with an ordinary construction project or restoration, we would have a clear timeline, but we should all agree – and it is a good thing - that this is an extraordinary process dealing with an extraordinary part of our city and our collective history.

I shared the Senator’s frustration. I would love to be in a position to bring my kids into this interpretive centre tomorrow or over the bank holiday weekend. We all would. However, the project, when completed, will produce something we can all reflect on, particularly the Senator, given what she has put in and dedicated to this during her time on the city council and in this House. The finished project will be something she will take personal pride in and I look forward to congratulating her when the commencement date is fixed and, more important, when things are opened and in use. We are moving on in terms of the development of this project. The professional appointments are welcome and will move it on to where it needs to be. I commit to bringing back the Senator’s frustration and, more important, her positive contribution to this debate to the Minister and his officials in the OPW.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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We have a situation here. I was first elected to this House 12 years ago today, in which time I have never seen a situation like this in which not even a script has been provided to the Minister of State to respond to Senator Murphy's Commencement matter. I checked to see if it would be appropriate to give the Senator the four minutes to outline his case but am told it is not. All I can do for him is bring this to the immediate attention of the Cathaoirleach and ask him to give the Senator top priority in terms of selecting this Commencement matter tomorrow or the next day. I apologise to the Senator on behalf of the House. This is totally inappropriate and unacceptable.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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I accept that.