Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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18. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide a specific timetable and budget for the Office of Public Works to advance works on the National Monument at Number 14 to 17 Moore Street in Dublin 1; if these works will be completed by Easter 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18239/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As I indicated in my reply to today’s Priority Oral Question No. 2, I secured the approval of the Government to acquire the national monument at Nos. 14–17 Moore Street for the State, following the decision of Dublin City Council to reject proposals that would have given the Council full ownership of the monument, along with NAMA funding to cover the full cost of restoring it and creating a 1916 commemorative centre on the site. The Government’s decision to step in to safeguard the monument will bring it into public ownership, will facilitate the restoration of the buildings and will ensure the proposed 1916 Commemorative Centre will be up and running as a public facility as speedily as possible. Following on from the Government’s decision, my Department and other relevant parties, including the monument owners, NAMA and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, are actively engaged with the aim of completing the transfer of the property to the State as quickly as possible. My Department is also examining options for the restoration of the buildings with a view to having them open to the public at the earliest possible date.