I want to start by thanking all Members for the contributions to this discussion. The Government is absolutely committed to the redevelopment of the GPO complex as an ambitious flagship project and plans are well under way for the refurbishment of the national monument at 14-17 Moore Street. It is our commitment to honour the men and women and indeed the children of 1916. It is our ambition to create a commemorative centre marking the 1916 Rising and the historic time period that it was. I rise today to defend not just the policies of this Government but the integrity of our approach to the preservation and the commemoration of our shared history. It is a history that includes the heroism and the sacrifice of the men and women of 1916, stories that many of us know well today, but stories we want not only to preserve and celebrate but ones we want to make accessible to the coming generations here in Ireland and those who visit. Let me say at the very outset, the Government unequivocally honours the legacy of the 1916 Rising. We are deeply committed to the preservation of the General Post Office and Moore Street, not merely as some sort of relics to our past but as living, enduring parts of our national story. I agree that this genuine commitment must be matched by responsibility and action, not grandstanding nor sloganeering. That is why I must directly address the Private Members' motion tabled by Deputy Mary Lou McDonald and her Sinn Féin colleagues. It is long on accusations but short on solutions, heavy with symbolism but light on substance. It accuses successive governments, and by implication this Government, of negligence and even of widespread destruction of a republican heritage. That claim is not just disingenuous; it is demonstrably false. Let me put on the record exactly what we have done. First, this Government secured and preserved the national monument at 14-17 Moore Street. After years of delay, including under local authorities and political parties now making accusations, we purchased this site and undertook critical stabilisation and weatherproofing works. More than that, we have progressed the restoration and conservation of these historic premises and underground escape routes. We have advanced many of our programmes. This is what we want. We want to welcome people into this space, to invite them in to learn and hear from the lives gone before for the country that we have now. Unlike the vague and politicised vision Sinn Féin offers, our approach intends to be practical and, importantly, deliverable. As for the GPO itself, let us be clear, it remains in full public ownership. It will remain a functioning post office for the time being. Its museums will remain open for the time being. Any redevelopment will preserve its central place in the cultural and historical fabric of the nation.

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No part of the GPO has been sold off, no part is being desecrated and there is no secret deal. These are all myths, and worse, they are deliberate distractions from the real work of heritage preservation and essential urban renewal of a changing city. What we propose is a respectful, imaginative redevelopment of the wider GPO complex, including its cultural, retail and office spaces, that complements and enhances the historical function of the site. In the same way as many other cities have blended modern purpose with historical preservation, we too can steward heritage and opportunity side by side. This vision is drawn from the Dublin city task force, the interdepartmental working group, years of public consultation, stakeholder engagement and architectural assessments. It is rooted in our NDP. It is not a whim or an afterthought; it is a clear national priority. Sinn Féin's position on the other hand is simply to freeze the GPO, turn Moore Street into a simple museum piece but offer no route to regeneration, no strategy for sustainability and no roadmap to funding or delivery. Good heritage policy must be adaptive and thoughtful, not locked into ideology. Let me remind this House of our decade of centenaries, one of the most inclusive, thoughtful and commemorative programmes ever undertaken by any government in the history of the State. We marked the 1916 Rising with respect, balance and dignity. We honoured all those who took part, from the volunteers to Cumann na mBan to those who died defending our city and our country.

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We commissioned the 1916 exhibition in the GPO which is now visited by thousands each year. We funded heritage grants across every county and we engaged with young people, artists, veterans and communities in every corner of Ireland. We made sure these commemorations belong not to any one party or ideology but to the Irish people as a whole. That, I believe, is what real respect looks like. It is what honouring the past looks like. My own great-grandfather fought in 1916. He helped to take Enniscorthy town. He was taken to Frongoch and to London for further questioning and examination. He fought for this country. My family knows the history of our own family and the fight for our freedom. By the way, Enniscorthy lasted until Easter Monday. We celebrate every Easter Monday, in a very honourable and respectful manner, what our forefathers and foremothers fought for. Let us contrast this with the language of Sinn Féin's motion today, language like "wanton destruction", "negligent" oversight and "alarm at the plans". These are all sloganeering designed for social media bites, not for honouring our history or our heritage. These are not phrases of stewardship but ones of division. No one has a monopoly of the memory of 1916. No one political party owns the Rising, certainly not the Provisional Sinn Féin, a party founded in 1970. No one group can speak as the sole voice for the battlefield sites of Moore Street or the historic heart of the GPO. This Government's countermotion makes our position clear. We affirm the historic status of the GPO as the site where the Proclamation was read aloud to the entire world. We recognise its enduring role since 1818 as a hub of communication and civic life and we endorse the development of 14-17 Moore Street into a state-of-the-art visitor centre. We commit to keeping the GPO in public hands, operational and active, and we include this work in our NDP and to creating a sustainable city. We do not want it to be preserved in name only, not with shuttered units or derelict facades. We want it to thrive as a cultural quarter and as a place of commerce, life and local pride where the living city meets its revolutionary soul. We do not seek to replace history with retail. We seek to ensure history is honoured in a way that is real, accessible and embedded in our urban future. Let us live up to the vision of an Ireland rooted in democracy, shaped by dialogue and proud of its past without being trapped by it. Let us remember the words of the Proclamation still echoing through the columns of the GPO, "Cherishing all the children of the nation equally." That includes cherishing their history but it is also about building their future. That is the Government's commitment and that is my commitment.

Sentiment score: 0.23

That was not the same-----

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