Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 February 2013
450. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he intends to continue considering a consent application made under a planning application that has been amended and altered and is, by the applicant's own admission, now subject to further planning approval. [9241/13]
View answer457. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in view of the fact that he has undertaken to preserve the national monument Moore St., Dublin, under preservation order No.1 of 2007, if he will explain the basis upon which he can consider an application that seeks his consent to retain only the monument's buildings, that is, 40% of its protected area; the basis upon which the application, in seeking Ministerial consent, can simply ignore the protection afforded to the national monument as a protected structure and a national monument, by redrawing its boundary to facilitate the demolition of protected structures and outbuildings directly linked to the 1916 Rising and build on, over and under it.. [8641/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 450 and 457 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 include the provision of a commemorative centre to the 1916 Rising and its Leaders on the national monument site is being examined.
As part of the consent process, the applicant was 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 place additional responsibilities on landowners in respect of monuments protected under the National Monuments Acts.
The environmental impact statement was submitted to my Department on 25 January 2013 and is available for public consultation in the Department’s offices and at the offices of Dublin City Council. Interested parties have until Friday, I March 2013, to provide me, as Minister, with their comments on it. Having completed the prescribed consultation procedures, I will proceed as quickly as possible to undertake a formal environmental impact assessment and to make a decision on the consent application.
