Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for a very wide-ranging presentation. Many of the items which she mentioned tend to interact. It is interesting how most of them tend to refer back to the 1916 commemoration, and that is as it should be. If we are talking about culture, art and the Irish language, they were all particular elements relating to the 1916 Rising.

We should all work towards creating as much unity as possible in regard to this commemoration. There are some misunderstandings in the public domain which can be addressed in a simple and straightforward manner. Some of these come, perhaps, from the vacuum which was created because the programme had not been brought forward, although this is not anyone's fault. I believe that there is a growing interest among the public in this commemoration, for all kinds of reasons. First, it led us towards our independence, and second, it is because of the number of relatives whose ancestors fought in 1916. There is always that community aspect of any commemoration which could very well be the bedrock of a very successful commemoration. We should work towards as much unity as possible. That does not mean we have to be uniform. As mentioned at this meeting, many people have different ideas and perhaps different experiences of and relationships with 1916. All of those can be accommodated without any great degree of difficulty.

It is a pity that the question of the presence of a royal personage at the 1916 commemoration was put forward at such an early date. We had an even worse scenario, if I might use that word, which was the idea that we were going to have a company of the British Army marching down O'Connell Street. That gained a certain level of credence as well. To some extent that has distracted from the building of a real commemoration, much of which has been sidelined at the moment. It was also a pity that the historians got involved at too late a date or so late, because they could have played a very significant role in the debate. I refer to Diarmaid Ferriter's contribution in this regard. What is important is that, whatever misunderstandings have arisen, these should be laid aside because the one thing we do not want is to debase this commemoration through disunity and disharmony. We have to do something about that.

I put forward the notion of a people's commemoration in a broader sense. Another group refers to a citizens' commemoration but I think a people's commemoration will happen anyway. There will not be an area in Ireland where there is not some activity which will reflect that community's interaction with the commemoration. This interaction and activity will be very strong. The people's commemoration should not be rewrapped in some way that it is intended as opposition to the State commemoration. This should be a partnership along every yard of the way and I think this will happen anyway.

On the Moore Street issue, I am disappointed at the situation. Many people invested much time in this concept and project over a number of years. We are at a stage where instead of being able to say we are making progress, we have people taking opposing positions. I urge the Minister, arising out of her own comments but I have made this point at previous meetings of the this committee, that there should be a round-table private discussion with the city council, the Department and the families. I do not have any doubt that it would work.

I suggest the solution would be along the lines that we would go along with the Minister's proposal for Moore Street but that the idea of the battle site could be considered at a future date and in other circumstances. We have to accept that it is regarded as one of the most important battle sites in Europe. The National Museum of Ireland has made this point. We should not become bogged down as to whether it is the whole battle site or the buildings. There is great potential in what the Minister has said about the plans for the buildings. However, if the other issue is not put to bed, it will be a distraction from the buildings. I am confident that a solution can be found with the city council, the Department and the families involved. I have a had lot of connection with them over recent years. I introduced them to a former Taoiseach who met them. I know that whatever is happening here and the friction which is developing is not a friction that can be laid aside. I urge the Minister, even though it might seem like a difficult task, and I do not mean in saying this that there should be cameras or newspapers present, to have a private discussion with representatives of the city council and everybody else in order that there can be a full understanding of what is on offer. I do not think there is yet a full understanding of what is on offer. The concerns of those who want to go further can certainly be laid to rest by the idea of moving forward at a further stage.

I wish to make a point on the Irish language. The committee had a meeting today with the language commissioner from Wales, Meri Huws. We had a very good meeting with her. We went to Wales five or six weeks ago and we met the First Minister, with the Arts Council, with the Eisteddfod and with the commissioner. We had a very prolonged two days of work. What struck me very forcefully was the similarities between Wales and Ireland. In fact, it was said to us that their language Act is based on our language Act to a large degree.

Today, the commissioner offered to meet with the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, to chat with him about her views. There is a global body of ten language commissioners whose meetings she attends, so she would not only be dealing with the Welsh experience, but also with that of the other commissioners. It would be very worthwhile to take her up on that offer. The new language Bill must bring on board all those who have supported its previous incarnation, which was unanimous in the Oireachtas - as was the 20-year strategy - and interestingly brought all the language organisations with it. The Minister knows as well as I do that I have only ever had the objective of keeping politics out of the language. It belongs to no political party. It belongs to the people and is central to the 1916 commemoration. I am slightly afraid that if we do not keep the goodwill that is there, the political divisiveness which I have not seen in almost 20 years may come back again. I ask that the Minister consider this in the interest of broadening the debate on the Language Bill.

I fully support the charter for the arts, which I think is a wonderful idea. My own organisation, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, is very deeply involved. We are interacting with the schools as was intended in the charter and have now introduced our latest initiative, TradTime, into 100 schools. We are providing the backup teachers and so on and the initiative is being expanded. The Minister for Education is to meet me to see how we can develop it further. There is a waiting list for schools wanting to come in. It is exceptionally successful and is tax compliant. It has all the elements the Minister of State requires and I was glad to hear him mention it today. It is something we could build on in a big way.