Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply and I welcome the fact that considerable preparatory work is being done at political and official level with regard to commemorations during this decade.

The words "respect" and "tolerance" stood out in the Tánaiste's reply. It is important that we have respect and tolerance on both sides. We should not lose our shared history. As an Ulster republican, I am proud of our fight for freedom and of the many achievements in the State that resulted from the activities of that period. Equally, as an Ulster person and an Irish person, I respect the pride that people of a different tradition take in their story. What we share is more important than what separates us. That must be uppermost in our thoughts as we prepare for these commemorations.

The period was a decisive one in Irish history. It was also a divisive period. The first major commemoration, of the Ulster Covenant on 29 September, passed off without major incident. As I said at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade last week, some deplorable incidents took place on that occasion when there was aggressive playing of tunes - one could not call it music - outside churches. I hope we can get away from that type of behaviour which could be provocative. None of us wants to see violence on the streets again. We had three nights of trouble in Belfast at the end of August. We do not want to see a repeat of that.

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