I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 14 and 17 together.
Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street are the subject of a Preservation Order under the National Monuments Acts. The effect of the Preservation Order is that any works affecting these properties require the consent of the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, under section 14 of the National Monuments Act 1930, as amended. The landowner’s application to my Department for consent to proposals that envisage the retention of the buildings and the provision of a commemorative centre to the 1916 Rising is being examined.
As part of the consent process, the applicant has been asked by my Department to submit an environmental impact statement in relation to the proposal. This is in accordance with the European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment of Proposed Demolition of National Monuments) Regulations 2012, which Minister Deenihan made in July. Those Regulations placed additional responsibilities on landowners in respect of monuments protected under the National Monuments Acts.
Following receipt of the environmental impact statement, which has yet to be submitted to my Department, and having completed the prescribed consultation procedures, the Minister will proceed as quickly as possible to undertake a formal environmental impact assessment and to make a decision on the consent application.