I propose to take Questions Nos. 173 to 175, inclusive, together.
As previously advised, the works being carried out on the National Monument at 14-17 Moore Street are in line with the consent issued by the then Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in 2014. These works, as has been publicly stated on a number of occasions, will return Nos. 14-17 Moore Street to their 1916 condition, with all original features preserved.
The works are being carried out by Lissadell Construction, who are conservation and heritage experts. Other projects completed by Lissadell include the National Concert Hall, the Royal Hospital Kilmainham and Kilmainham Gaol.
The works are being overseen by expert conservation architects and by a Steering Committee which includes senior representatives/experts from my own Department, the Office of Public Works, the National Museum of Ireland, the National Archives of Ireland and Dublin City Council.
The works are also being monitored by the Chief Archaeologist and staff at my Department’s National Monuments Service (NMS). The NMS is also monitoring compliance with the undertaking given to the High Court in relation to the ongoing works.
My objective is to restore these four buildings to their 1916 state and allow the Irish public to see the marks of the Easter Rising. The four houses - Nos 14, 15, 16 and 17 - are the only houses in the terrace whose exteriors and interiors pre-date 1916 and which bear the scars and evidence of the presence of the men and women of 1916. In a tribute befitting their sacrifice, the Government is making a significant investment in a sensitive restoration of that property to render it into a national monument of which the Irish people can be proud.
Number 18, in ruins at the time of the Easter Rising, was rebuilt in the 1920s and has no evidence of the presence of the 1916 leaders. Number 13 was completely rebuilt in the 1960s.
