merrion street

The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Tuesday) said that she intends to establish a consultative group on Moore Street, as a means to make positive progress in relation to the future of the street. The Minister’s announcement follows a Government decision to appeal the recent High Court ruling on Moore Street, due to the potential widespread implications of the judgment for planning and development nationally.

The decision to appeal the judgment was taken following advice from the Attorney General and consultation with a number of Government departments and agencies, including the Office of Public Works (OPW), the Department of Transport, the Department of Environment and Transport Infrastructure Ireland. These Departments raised serious concerns about:
· The wider implications of the judgment, which extend beyond Moore Street;
· The potential for the judgment to set a precedent which could affect a wide range of vital infrastructure projects;
· The judgment’s impact on the planning and development code;
· The manner in which the judgment widens the scope of national monuments status in an unprecedented manner;
· The impact of the judgment on the operation of the National Monuments Acts.

Speaking today Minister Humphreys said:
“I fully understand that Moore Street is a location that holds great importance for many people. However, this judgment has implications that extend far beyond Moore Street. The legal advice I have received, coupled with input from other Government Departments, highlights the impact this judgment could have on infrastructure projects countrywide.

“My Department and other Government Departments are very concerned that this judgment could be used as a means to obstruct or delay planning and development right across the country. The judgment extends the scope of national monument status, setting a precedent which could affect a wide range of vital infrastructure projects.

“I have considered whether it would be possible to appeal sections of the judgment, but that is not a viable legal option. If I did not to appeal this judgment, I would be ignoring very strong advice from the Attorney General, the Departments of Environment and Transport, the OPW and Transport Infrastructure Ireland that an appeal is necessary in the interests of planning and development projects nationwide.

“The decision to appeal the High Court ruling does not mean we cannot find a way forward for Moore Street. There are a range of views in relation to what is the best way to proceed. In a bid to bring together all of these views and seek positive progress, I will be establishing a consultative group on Moore Street with an independent Chair. This follows a suggestion from Fianna Fáil on the matter. The group will include cross-party Oireachtas members and other relevant stakeholders. It is my intention to establish the group in the coming weeks so work can begin on charting a way forward.”

Note to Editors:

Ruling of the High Court in relation to buildings on Moore Street:
In line with its finding that a national monument may exist even if all tangible evidence or traces of the original monument have been substantially removed or destroyed, the Court found that the following plots on Moore Street itself, in some cases the sites rather than the buildings or structures, are national monuments:
· Nos. 11 and 12. The façades are in modern brick and postdate the Rising. No. 12 is known to have been rebuilt in the 1970s.
· No. 13 has a new façade in modern brick. The interior is modern and nothing survives of the historic fabric. It is known to have been rebuilt in the 1960s.
· Nos. 18 and 19 are essentially post-1916 structures. No. 19 was a vacant site as late as the 1930s.
· The facades and interiors of Nos. 22 and 23 all post-date 1916. The buildings are likely to date from the 1960s.
· Nos. 24 and 25 were entirely newly built in the 1990s.