Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair, Deputy Smyth, and ask for a big round of applause for her for organising this meeting. I welcome our guests. Normally we use the term "witnesses" but "guests" is more appropriate in this context. The concept behind Seanad 100 is to open up the Seanad to the different voices and members of our community and nation and those beyond. When we were coming up with a theme for Seanad 100 it was about minority voices for major change. Some of the minority voices that aired issues that Irish society did not want to hear once sat where our guests are sitting today.

A hundred years ago, the founders of the new State wanted to ensure that the minority voices of the unionist, Protestant and loyalist community who found themselves on the southern side of the Border after partition would have a voice in this chamber. It was not just a voice but a disproportionate voice. Of the 60 Senators, 20 were Protestant, three were Quakers and there was one lady of Jewish faith who was born in a workhouse in London. We had the commander of the British forces in Ireland. The great-grandson of Henry Grattan was a Member of the Seanad, as was a road worker from County Meath. The Jameson and Guinness families were represented here. The Members of the Seanad provided the backbone for the legislative process because the Members of the Dáil were not used to parliamentary procedures, whereas many of those who served in the Seanad from the unionist and Protestant community had experience in that regard. Some of them had worked in Dublin Castle during the War of Independence but the State knew that it needed to rely on their expertise to make things work.

Over time, the minority communities and voices were represented by other people. Members of the gay community were represented in the Seanad by Senator David Norris, the longest continuing serving Senator in the history of the state, at 37 years and counting. He represented the voice of a community that died in our last pandemic when our society, establishment and nation did not want to hear about it and did not want to act. He made them act not only in regard to the pandemic but in relation to gay people's rights.

In the 20 years in which Mary Robinson served here, she made changes that improved the rights of women. In the ten years before she became a Senator, only three women had served on juries. She used her position as a platform to change Irish society for the better. Often, she could not even get a seconder for some of her motions and could not get people to sign her Bills. Those Bills became legislation that many people now take for granted.

The Seanad's job was always to represent minority voices and views. In the modern era, we have Senator Eileen Flynn, a member of the Traveller community who represents those voices and communities. The role of the Seanad into the future will be to take on issues that Irish society often does not want to tackle or hear. The views that our guests articulate as our media are equally important. Our guests represent not only the majority view but also minority views. We are in a time when the media are under massive financial stress but also stress in terms of the truth. Politicians, the media, the Judiciary and all branches of Government and the State are very conscious that in other jurisdictions, the truth is often not getting out. In some capital cities, one cannot buy a newspaper so the content of one's phone becomes the reality.

Given the many challenges, local and national radio and print media in all its formats are vital to the very foundation of democracy.

That is why it is appropriate that we welcome representatives of radio, print media and journalism to the Seanad Chamber on the 100th anniversary. They are more than welcome to come back next year and every other year because our idea is to open up the Seanad. We have had children and people from Foróige in the House to speak about the climate action and climate justice issue and people from Northern Ireland to discuss the constitutional future of the island. In Seanad 100 we are glancing back but looking forward. We cannot look forward without having the fourth estate, which challenges and questions the viewpoints of the majority and the establishment view to ensure things are done correctly. Often, unfortunately, groupthink took over and things did not happen as they should have. We all know the consequences of that for society and for the individuals affected. The role of the media is hugely important now, in the past and most importantly into the future because without a free and independent media and a media that can sustain itself, we would not have this democracy and we are one of the few countries in the world. Only a dozen have had continuous democracies for the past 100 years. We must ensure we protect it and media is one of the key elements of a functioning democracy that questions authority. Without that questioning we will not have the country we want or deserve.

I will hand back to the Chair. The committee is most welcome to the Chamber of Seanad Éireann.