Responding to the Moore Street plan announced by Minister Heather Humphreys, Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe, described the proposals as minimalist, lacking vision, and an embarrassing cobbled together bunch of ideas that fails to protect and enhance the 1916 monument and battlefield site.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“While it is welcome that the Government has finally acquired the National Monument 14-17 Moore Street after years of prevarication and foot dragging, sadly their proposals are minimalist, lacking vision, and an embarrassingly cobbled together bunch of ideas that fails to protect or enhance the 1916 monument, and the greater battlefield area.

“Irish Volunteers commanded by Patrick Pearse surrendered to British forces on 30 April 1916 from the terrace of houses on Moore Street at the ending of the Easter Rising. We know that five of the seven signatories of the Irish Proclamation of Independence – Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas Clarke, Joseph Plunkett and Sean MacDermott, surrendered along with Michael Collins, from the terrace.

“Behind Minister Humphrey’s launch smile there are huge gaps in her plans for Moore Street and the adjoining area.

“Following their public relations launch we still do not know how they propose to address the sites current deplorable condition and how they will preserve the integrity of this national monument.

“The Minister’s plan does not even try to protect the historic terrace 10-25 Moore Street, and does nothing to try and address or give any consideration to the greater battlefield site.

“Whatever happens it is clear that the terrace where the last stand occurred will be a building site for the Centenary celebrations. It also looks likely that many of the back yards, basements, the streetscape, and historic lanes of our history will be subsumed in her plan.

“The very questionable planning permission which would allow the demolition of the entire terrace, apart from numbers 14 to 17, still lingers like a bad smell coming from an open sewer, over the entire area.

“If this planning is allowed to proceed  then the entire area will be engulfed and dwarfed by a giant €1.25 billion shopping mall monstrosity, that no one, aside from a handful of well-heeled investors want to see getting the go ahead.

“There are also significant and unanswered questions still remaining over the work being proposed for numbers 14-17.

“This latest proposal smacks of the same discredited plan rejected by the 1916 Relatives Committee among others and previously put forward by Chartered Lands.”

ENDS