Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There or thereabouts. We will leave that border issue to another day. Osmond Esmonde had a role in 1926, 757 years later, in getting the Government to determine that we should not have two national anthems, one played abroad and one played at home. According to what we have just learned, this was on 12 July, another historic day in Irish history. Perhaps Alain and Bishopstown Community School would do us the honour of coming up with their draft. Everything will be a draft from here on, including my report. I thank Emily-Jo, Alex and Stephen for coming before the committee. They might send us on the details of where they got the source of 12 July because we are struggling here with the number of different dates we have been given as to what happened and when regarding our national anthem.

The Minister of State might talk to us about the options ahead of us, of which there are three. There is the status quooption, which is to get the timelines and history of the national anthem, as we have done with the national flag. The protocol section of the Taoiseach's Department has devised, first, the origins and history of the flag and, second, the protocols in this regard. The flag is enshrined in Article 7 of the Constitution. This status quooption concerns the protocols and guidelines that we could devise and leave at that. However, this option would entail no legislative or formal recognition of the national anthem in Irish or English, or even the music to it or a sign language version of it. Then we have Dr. O'Dell's view. I would like him to answer a number of questions. Are we trying to fix something that does not need fixing? Have sanctions been taken in other jurisdictions? When we asked the Canadian Parliament, it could not find any record of sanctions it has taken since it enshrined its national anthem in legislation. It had protocols and guidelines but said it could not find records. When one is looking for something that is not there - in this case, breaches of the Parliament's protocols - it is very hard to find it. Then we have the middle ground option of Canada, a combination of legislation and protocols. Our job here as legislators is to ask whether we need the protections. Unfortunately, the national anthem has already been used for commercial purposes, so that breach has already taken place. Should it be left to the court of public opinion, or is it the requirement of legislators to prevent such inappropriate use?

I thank all the students present, Bishopstown Community School and our other distinguished guests for being with us today.