Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 June 2014
16. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reason the preservation and restoration of the historical site of the last headquarters of the 1916 leaders at 14-17 Moore Street was not included in the six flagship commemoration projects to be funded under the phase 4 infrastructure stimulus projects he announced on 13 May 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23675/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, a priority of the Government in the context of the commemorative programme for the Decade of Centenaries has been to advance a number of significant capital projects that would provide a lasting legacy of the centenary of the Rising. I was very pleased, therefore, to be present on 13 May last when the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced an allocation from Stimulus Funding of €22 million for 2015 for key commemorative projects. This followed on from an initial allocation of funding for 2014.
The flagship projects being advanced include:
- the development of a permanent interpretive centre at the GPO;
- the digitisation and provision of a permanent home for the Military Service Pensions Archive;
- the development of visitor facilities at Kilmainham Courthouse;
- the conservation of Richmond Barracks;
- a tenement museum in Henrietta Street, and
- a visitor centre at Teach an Phiarsaigh in Ros Muc.
Significant refurbishment and development works are also to be carried out at the National Archives headquarters and at the National Concert Hall.
In relation to the site at 14-17 Moore Street, my statutory function arises from the Preservation Order under the National Monuments Acts, which conveyed to the site its status as a national monument. As a result of the Preservation Order, any works affecting the monument require my consent, as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
In July 2013, I signed an order of consent that approved a commemorative centre proposal, as well as the full repair and conservation of the monument buildings. That consent was conditional on a revised project design being submitted to me that took full account of the elements of the proposal for which consent had been refused and the conditions attached to the approved works.
A revised design was received in March of this year and has now been assessed and approved, subject to a number of new conditions. The decision I have made on the revised designs will, I believe, secure the future of one of the most important sites in modern Irish history. The accompanying conditions will also ensure that the restored buildings will, from day one, have a standard of finish and appearance that befits their historical importance.
It should be noted that, unlike the flagship commemorative projects already referred to, the funding for the Moore Street project is being provided through the National Asset Management Agency.
I believe that there is now a great opportunity to have a fully restored commemorative centre in Moore Street in time for the centenary of the Rising in 2016 and that it should be the shared goal of all parties to help ensure that outcome. Together with the interpretive centre planned for the GPO, the Moore Street project will provide a key focal point for our commemoration of the events, the people and the sacrifices they made in 1916.
