Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. Cuirim fáilte roimh na daoine atá anseo inniu. I wish to declare an interest just like I did at the beginning of the hearings. I am chairman of the Irish Family History Foundation.
I shall avail of this opportunity to compliment the GRO and the CSO on their impressive work to date. This is an occasion for us to exchange views. Mr. Dalton has clearly stated his position on the 1926 census, a subject that I shall return to in a moment.
I am delighted that the GRO and CSO are present to develop a plan to capture the full value of our genealogical heritage. Many players have attended the hearings and we have heard all of the players. Some of them are statutory in nature, some are voluntary-community in nature and so on. There is great enthusiasm for the subject and it would inspire a person to bring about a plan that would correlate and lead to co-operation between all of the players. I have got the feeling from the hearings to date - and I do not mean from today's meeting - that this has been a public relations exercise for us all. I include the Irish History Family Foundation in my conclusion. We have all set out our individual stalls. On the other hand, I understand the statutory obligations that belong to the two sets of witnesses attending today. I like to think that efforts to develop a plan will go beyond this stage because a great deal can be gained from co-operation.
There is a lot of information available because we have the exceptionally important civil and church records and we also have a lot of private collections of material. People would contribute to the scheme if there was a single focus that did not undermine the distinctive autonomy of each group involved. One cannot make progress by undermining their autonomy. Without doubt the genealogical heritage is a national treasure because it tells us who we are as a people and from whence we came. We all know that Irish people are very proud. Even in the most challenging of times and with a small population we virtually think that we own the world. We do own a bit of the world if we accept that there is an estimated 75 million people of Irish extraction located around the world. I have an immense feeling of pride wherever I travel. I had the same feeling last week when I was in London and it has happened when I travelled to China, Japan, South Korea and even North Korea. Wherever I have travelled I have found some understanding of the great Irish story.
There is great goodwill towards Ireland. One of the main reasons for it is that we never colonised any other country. Therefore, we are always viewed as having contributed to a developing world. I say that by way of explaining why our genealogical heritage is such an important subject for us. It is not just statistics. It is so much more than statistics.
Let us think in terms of employment. Many of the players who have attended here employ a large number of people, not just the State bodies but non-State bodies as well. I can say that applies to the Irish Family History Foundation as it employs quite a large number of people. I do not know if anyone has seen the publication of the top 100 global genealogical websites but I am particularly proud that the Irish Family History Foundation's website rootsireland.ie has been ranked top of an Irish group of three genealogical websites and in the past week has moved up another five points. The only reason that I made the point is to emphasise that it is good news when any player makes a contribution.
My next question will be difficult to answer for an organisation with a statutory background but let us consider the title of these hearings. Does either organisation see a way for us all to co-operate instead of setting out our own stalls yet protect the autonomy of each organisation and tap into the great potential that exists?
Only three months ago I introduced a Bill in the Seanad on the issue of the 1926 census. Interestingly, every Senator who spoke in the Seanad, both Government and Opposition, were in favour but the Government had to say it was not in a position to accept the Bill.
Deputy Catherine Murphy has outlined the importance of the 1926 census. It is the first census to be conducted since the foundation of the State which makes it very important. All of us, not just people in Ireland but all over the world, who have an interest are focused on the 1926 census. I have received messages from all over the world and groups of visitors who are involved in genealogy have met me here in order to focus on the 1926 census.

I spoke at the big event at the RDS that the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, attended four or five months ago. Questions were asked and the first concerned the 1926 census because such important information is in it. I fully understand what Mr. Dalton is saying about confidentiality and not undermining what is already there. Even allowing for those who are still alive from 1926, there could be some methodology not to release the information concerning them. When we made a decision on the 100-year rule, we did not realise the way society was going to change so quickly, nor how important this kind of information would be.

If the law has to be changed, it should be done in consultation with the CSO. None of us wishes to damage what the CSO has achieved. We rely on it so much and we do not wish to undermine the confidence people have in giving that information. In the decade of commemoration, and particularly 2016 for the centenary of 1916, we had all hoped that we would relax the law. I do not mean to point the finger at the CSO but I got the feeling, during the debate in the Seanad, that the reason given was that the CSO would not be happy with it. When asked for advice, the CSO must give advice. I would still like to think it is possible that we do not have to wait until 2026 for this information. Many of us will not be around to enjoy the result but, more important still, we will miss major opportunities.

Do the witnesses see a way of co-operation based what we are trying to achieve? Will our report of these hearings be setting out the stall of each group? Based on what we are saying today and accepting the points made by the CSO about defending confidentiality, Deputy Catherine Murphy is correct that her mother, although I would have thought it was her grandmother-----