Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Ó Caoláin has put forward a number of suggestions and I will give them to the commemorative committee in my Department for examination. I am not aware if there is a particular commemoration or if an organisation has requested funding regarding the Irish Republican Brotherhood.

We received proposals from some organisations on commemorating the great Famine. I stated that the best way to do so was to bring together the relevant officials from the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Arts, Sport and Tourism, my Department and the Office of Public Works, as well as anyone else these officials meet from time to time to examine timing, location and nature of a commemorative event. We must try to do something enduring because the request in the House and outside is to reflect the historic and terrible loss of life, the significance of the great Famine for the Irish diaspora and the continuing issues of hunger and food security. We can examine the role modern Ireland plays and the contribution it makes to the world, particularly where hunger is still prevalent and rampant. I have asked the committee to examine this. I wish to make sure that, if the commemoration is focused on a day, organisations are involved and it becomes a meaningful and respectful day. They are the only terms of reference I would suggest as well as the correspondence we have received from organisations. I await the committee's report.

See this speech in context