Mr. Michael Merrigan:

First of all, I thank Senator Ó Murchú for his kind words. His support down through the years with the Bills has been very much appreciated by our members. We could say we are almost there. A very good consultative process was begun in 1998. It came out of a suggestion we made during the passing of the National Cultural Institutions Act through Seanad Éireann. We were working very closely with Senator Paschal Mooney. Having got nearly 28 amendments there, one suggestion we had was that we need to know what we are talking about regarding what our genealogical heritage is. What is the scope of this? The Minister at the time, Michael D. Higgins, agreed to this suggestion. There was a change of Government following the election and his successor, Síle de Valera, initiated the study in 1998. That produced a very interesting and comprehensive interim report. That interim report could have formed the basis for a draft policy and plan for genealogy in Ireland. Unfortunately, when the final report came, they chose one particular suggestion within the consultative process. Unfortunately, that was not what the Minister had asked for so that consultative process ended. What I am suggesting is that the basis for the interim document of 1998 could be looked at again. If we want to capture the full value of our genealogical research, we must first understand what it is. We proposed within our document a national inventory of genealogical records or records of genealogical potential. These are records that may not be formed for a genealogical purpose but which have genealogical potential. All genealogists are quite aware of that. The maximum amount comes from archaeology. A grave yield site next to a known archaeological site is one of archaeological potential. That consultative process that took place in 1998 by the Heritage Council was very open and inclusive. I suggest that the committee with the possible aid of the Heritage Council build on what was done in the interim report from 1998 and see where things have changed.

What is our genealogical heritage and what is genealogy? I will bring my colleague in on that in a moment. That must be looked at because if we can get that clear, we can all work together and say this is what we are talking about. Regarding the youth guarantee, I agree that there are many opportunities there. While we are getting an update on that interim report - in other words, doing the scoping exercise - there could be positions there.

There are issues there that could be looked at. There is employment potential within the process but, at the end of the day, we need a national plan and policy. All of us, even through we are coming at this in many different ways, we can work towards that. However, we must work towards it on the basis that it is a national endeavour.

Genealogy is the only resource that can initiate, engage and successfully maintain a connection with our diaspora to create an affinity with Ireland through the promotion of an awareness, appreciation and knowledge of a shared ancestral heritage by providing free public access. If an affinity is created, an individual might not only look at this to source his or her family history but he or she might buy Irish products or, at another level, he or she might invest. We have to maintain and sustain an affinity with Ireland and build on it and that can be done even with a pay-per-view model.