Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Yes. In Deputy Kenny's constituency, people could talk about the passion associated with the Land League. It is not that any single event is not significant, and the Famine is significant in numerical terms, but there should be a way of combining them. That was done in 1986. We can embrace all these events. With no disrespect to the committee in this case, committees come and go. Twenty years ago, much thought was put into organising a national day of commemoration, respect and celebration. That should be considered. Otherwise, there could be a host of days of commemoration. It might be an important day but people will say, as Deputy Timmins just did, that some other day is more important for their region. Then one gets into an endless argument.

This group is a good group but so are all the other groups. It is good that there is a historical connection and if people wish to examine it, we can do so. However, we should combine these commemorations into a single event.

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