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Moore Street Monument ‘robustly and comprehensively protected’ – Minister Deenihan

· Application for consent to alterations to the Moore Street monument are under Ministerial consideration at present

· Decision on application will be taken in accordance with high level of protection applied to these buildings and with regard to their national and historical significance

Tuesday, May 22nd – Speaking in Dáil Éireann this evening, Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, has confirmed that the Moore Street national monument is robustly and comprehensively protected.

Minister Deenihan has outlined the details of an application for consent to alterations to the monument, under consideration at present by him as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

The Minister has also confirmed that, in making a decision in relation to this application, his overriding concern will be the long-term preservation and protection of the national monument itself along with the appropriate and respectful commemoration and remembrance of the Leaders of the 1916 Rising.

Minister Deenihan commented:

“I want to state unequivocally that the buildings at Nos. 14-17 Moore Street are robustly and comprehensively protected as a national monument under the provisions of the National Monuments Acts. No change can be made to the buildings - internally or externally - without my express consent.

“I am fully committed to the preservation of this national monument. The 1916 Rising was a seminal event and a fundamental turning point in the history of the Irish people – a catalyst to a chain of events that would culminate in the creation of our Republic.

“I am acutely aware of the imminent approach of the 1916 centenary celebrations and of the critical need for this massively important historical site to be brought up to a standard befitting the occasion. Time is rapidly running out if this goal is to be realised and it is my intention to make a decision on the consent application as soon as the necessary deliberations and consultations have been completed.”

The Minister has also paid tribute to the campaigners who have ensured that the Moore Street houses were designated as a national monument.

“I want to join in paying special tribute to the relatives of the signatories to the 1916 Proclamation and the other campaigners who have managed to raise public awareness of the historic buildings on Moore Street. Their hard work and commitment has ensured that there is a national monument there today. But for them what is now a national monument could have been demolished under planning permission granted in 1999 that would have allowed this to happen. It was their efforts that led to the Preservation Order being placed on Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street in January 2007 - a decision I fully concur with.”