Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

A Cheann Comhairle, sa tseomra seo, 90 bliain o shin, cuireadh feoil dhaonlathach ar idéalacha Éirí Amach na Cásca. Ar an láthair stairiúil seo, déanadh an réabhlóid a dhaonlathú. Don chéad uair, i stair na hÉireann, leagadh síos clár oibre polaitiúil chun an réabhlóid a thabhairt chun foirfeachta.

Bhí an Clár Daonlathach i measc ornáidí na Céad Dála, clár a scríobh Tom Johnson, ceannaire an Lucht Oibre ag an am. Labhraíonn na prionsabail a shoilsíonn an chláir sin fós dúinn sa lá atá inniu ann — saoirse, ionannas agus an ceart don uile dhuine — rosc daonlathach dúinn, oidhrí na Céad Dála.

In this Round Room, 90 years ago, the old ways came to an end and a new era began. On 21 January 1919, as our first TDs gathered here, life for most people in Ireland was very hard. Europe had just been ravaged and re-divided by a bloody, senseless, imperialist war which claimed the lives of 50,000 of our fellow Irishmen. Another 10,000 people had died from flu in the previous year. Hundreds of thousands lived in slums and abject poverty.

The general election of 1918 was the first when all adult men and almost all women got the vote. Two out of every three voters in 1918 were on the electoral register for the first time. They used this new political opportunity to sweep away the old order — away with the seemingly impregnable Irish Parliamentary Party which had been built up by Parnell, now replaced by a popular independence movement. Instead of going to Westminster they came here, to build something new — a democratic parliament, that owed much to the liberal parliamentary tradition which had supported the Irish cause in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

The proceedings that day were short, but the objectives were great. A declaration of independence, an appeal to the nations of the world, read in Irish, English and French, in the hope that Ireland would be seated at the post-war peace conference. The Democratic Programme set out a vision for what democracy and independence could mean in practice for the people of the country.

The Democratic Programme was written by the then leader of the Labour Party, Tom Johnson. However, Johnson and his colleagues sat in the Public Gallery that day. They were not TDs in that First Dáil, because Labour had decided not to contest the 1918 election, so as not to split the vote of the independence movement. That was a patriotic, selfless decision, putting country before party by a Labour movement which was playing a central role in the events of the time. Labour was pivotal in the anti-conscription campaign which mobilised Irish people in the run-up to the election, including the organisation of a general strike. It was Labour which won the very first international recognition for Ireland's independence at the Socialist International in Berne in 1919, a few weeks after the meeting of the First Dáil.

The Democratic Programme of the First Dáil was steeped in the ideals of Labour and was brimming with optimism. Some 90 years later, those same values were never more relevant and the optimism was never more necessary. Echoing down the years, the words of the Democratic Programme reproach us challenge us and yet inspire us.

Even before our present economic difficulties, as a country we had not vindicated what the programme called "the right of every citizen to an adequate share of the produce of the nation's labour". Mired as we are again in scandal about the abuse of children, and considering the consequences of cutbacks in education, can we say that we have lived up to the objective that "the first duty of the Government of the Republic is to make provision for the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the children"? Can the elderly patient lying on a hospital trolley, or the pensioners defending their medical cards and their pension rights feel that "the nation's aged and infirm shall not be regarded as a burden, but rather entitled to the nation's gratitude and consideration"?

As we see this week how a small number of greedy individuals have brought economic havoc to our country, we can reflect on the simple statement in the Democratic Programme "that it is the duty of every man and woman to give service" and that as thousands lose their jobs, that "it is the duty of the nation to assure that every citizen shall have opportunity to spend his or her strength and faculties in the service of the people".

This day of commemoration comes at another difficult moment in our country's history, when we are confronted again with the human consequences of economic mistakes. A time of uncertainty and apprehension. However, we can take heart from the pioneers who assembled here 90 years ago. We too can make a new beginning.

That First Dáil faced near impossible obstacles and what it achieved was not inevitable. Its Members endured pain, but chose to make new history. They were free, and they freed this country, because they refused to be prisoners of their past. In this our time, as we face our moment of national crisis, we should be inspired by their words and by their courage. We too can forge a new beginning and sweep away the failings of the past. We too can be inspired to build a sustainable prosperity and a fair society — a country that respects its old and values its young, a country governed as the First Dáil decided, by the principles of liberty, equality and justice for all. I know it is not possible to make a formal proposal here, but may I suggest that we consider making 21 January our national independence day?

Braithim timpeall orainn inniu, taibhsí fathaigh na Céad Dála nár loic an chrógacht orthu. Fir is mná a raibh sé de dhánaíocht acu brionglóid nua a shamhlú do mhuintir na hÉireann. Brionglóid oscailte, iolrach, brionglóid a thabharfadh saoirse on mbochtannas, brionglóid a chuirfeadh ina seasamh ar an dá chois féin iad.

Is é dúshlán na linne seo ná, an chrógacht a shealbhú arís le paisean, ionas nach mbeidh sé le rá i gceann céad bliain eile, gur sinne an ghlúin a thug droim láimhe don Phoblacht iolrach daonlathach sin, a tháinig ar an saol ina leanbh, ar úrlár an tseomra seo 90 bliain ó shin.

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