Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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3. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department has studied the potential impact and benefits in terms of tourism and culture of developing a culture quarter in the Moore Street area as a living commemoration to the heroes of 1916. [17074/24]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Has the Department studied the potential impacts and benefits in terms of tourism and culture of developing a culture quarter on Moore Street as a living commemoration to the heroes of 1916?

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The Deputy will appreciate that the development of city quarters, such as the one outlined by him, is primarily a matter for Dublin City Council as the relevant local authority under the Planning and Development Act 2000. However, my Department is investing significantly in the city's cultural infrastructure through our national cultural institutions, including the Abbey Theatre. The record funding I have delivered in support of arts and culture, including direct funding through Creative Ireland and the Arts Council, is adding significantly to the vibrancy of our capital. Fáilte Ireland also has a number of strategic initiatives and partnerships in place to support a vibrant and diverse tourism industry in Dublin city.

As the Deputy will be aware from his constructive role on the all-party consultation group on commemorations, the Ireland 2016 centenary programme was the centrepiece of the Decade of Centenaries and its objective was to have a rich diversity of events and programming running throughout 2016, marking the centenary of the 1916 Rising, including those who took part in those seminal events. The programme was unprecedented in scale and ambition and rolled out a number of innovative programmes and initiatives across Dublin city and nationally. As part of the programme, the then Government invested significantly in major capital projects across Dublin city to leave a permanent and meaningful legacy for the commemorations.

These projects included: the GPO: Witness History visitor centre; a new visitor centre at Kilmainham Courthouse; the refurbished Kevin Barry Recital Rooms; refurbished military archives; an interactive tourist centre at Richmond Barracks; and the Henrietta Street tenement museum. All of these projects have contributed to providing an authentic and rich tourism offering in Dublin city for citizens and visitors alike.

Finally, in relation to Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street, the then Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht purchased the monument site in 2015. However, as the Heritage function transferred to the Department of housing in 2020, issues in relation to the national monument are now a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. That said, I am aware of the work which is being done there to conserve the national monument and to create a 1916 commemorative centre, which will add to the overall cultural, heritage and tourism attractiveness of Dublin.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. The Ministers and others in the House will be aware that I had a legislation, An Bille um Cheathrú Chultúir 1916, 2021, that was passed here in the House on Second Stage in 2021 and has languished in the housing committee, which it probably should not have been sent to. It should have been sent, as originally intended, to the arts committee where at least the concept would have been looked at as a whole. That is not necessarily to do with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. It was not a new idea. It was based on a Bill put forward by the then Senator Darragh O'Brien, but it has been jettisoned since then.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity still exists, even given that there is a planning application in and we cannot necessarily interfere with that, for the State to step in and ensure that we have an appropriate cultural quarter in that area that recognises not only the history of 1916, but also that of a living market and those who sold and plied their trade on Moore Street for many years.

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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As I said earlier, the matters relating to the development of Moore Street are for the relevant local authority, Dublin City Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and work is currently under way with the OPW and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in relation to the conservation of the national monument at Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street. The responsibilities of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in this matter relate to the maintenance and presentation of the national monument of Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street.

As Minister for arts and culture, I am supportive of investment in arts infrastructure based on the intrinsic value of our arts and investing in our cultural infrastructure based on the fundamental importance of protecting and presenting our cultural heritage. That is why in Dublin, for example, the Government is investing in a major programme of capital investment in our national cultural institutions, including the Abby Theatre.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I do not know whether the Minister is aware that there is an opportunity here for a national programme and it is not only the responsibility of the city council because this area will be impacted by the metro. The State owns not only Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street but owns other properties in the area. Also, An Post has decamped from the GPO, which means that one could have, as envisaged, not only by me but by Deputy Darragh O'Brien in the past in the Seanad, a cultural quarter which would extend from the GPO - all the way - and covered that region of Moore Street where one would link in with other national cultural institutions in the area. That opportunity is still there. Once any building happens, one has lost what is, in my belief and the belief of judges in the past, a national monument. Once it is gone, it is not coming back. We still have as a State an opportunity to step in and preserve what is there, to build on it and to use it as a cultural quarter.

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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As I said, as Minister for arts and culture, I see how that investment in the cultural infrastructure is of fundamental importance.

We see other areas of regeneration through investment in culture, such as The Abbey, as I have checked, which is a driver of renewal for the area. That is what is really exciting about investment in culture, but also, definitely, there are benefits when we do this for tourism. The Deputy mentioned the GPO. The benefits for tourism from attractions such as that cannot be underestimated. The State's investment in this building was hugely significant.

It is also the case that cultural investment is a support for tourism and our NCIs are amongst the most visited free attractions for tourists every year. Dublin is the city of Joyce, U2, St. Patrick's Festival and associated cultural programmes. However, as I said, the development of a project such as that described by the Deputy is a matter for Dublin City Council and it would be inappropriate for me, as Minister, to comment further. National monuments are a matter for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.