Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman and am pleased to have this opportunity to speak on the motion. As the Minister with responsibility for the decade of commemorations, I welcome any discussion that raises consciousness of the 1913 Lock-out and its legacy. I hope to continue working with representatives of all parties and Independent Members to ensure the memory of the 1913 Lock-out is something that unites, rather than divides us. I wish to take this opportunity to commend the 1913 committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, on its work to date. It has led the planning for the centenary in a manner that is inclusive and with a premium on historical accuracy. My Department has funded initiatives, including the tapestry project of the Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union, SIPTU, and the Century Ireland website, which will provide comprehensive historical coverage of the 1913 Lock-out. It also is working with ICTU to facilitate its plans and exhibitions have been organised by the cultural institutions, including the National Library and the National Museum, to make available to the public documentation and artefacts related to the Lock-out, some for the first time. The Irish Heritage Trust is working with partners, including ICTU and Dublin City Council, to bring forward the tenement museum on Henrietta Street, which will show the reality of conditions for ordinary people living in Dublin in 1913. This Friday, I will visit the National College of Art and Design, NCAD, to view a collection of artworks on the theme of the 1913 Lock-out produced by primary school children from Dublin 8 through the NCAD access and outreach programme.

Larkin or Connolly would scarcely be expected to believe the opportunities that are available to the children of Dublin 100 years on from their struggle for basic rights, when infant mortality in Dublin was the highest in the western world. More can always be done and I am working with my colleagues in Government to improve education and opportunities but there can be no comparison between conditions in 1913 and conditions today. I also wish to take this opportunity to put on record my thanks to the members of both the all-party working group and the advisory group on centenary commemorations. Both groups have contributed significantly to the development of the centenary commemorative programme. Education and access are at the heart of the decade of commemorations and everyone should have the opportunity to see historical sites and documents at first hand. I am supporting major digitisation projects, including that of the military service pensions archive, which will enable people anywhere in the world to access primary source documents for themselves to learn more about the heritage of their families. This has enormous tourism potential, as well as being important for a new generation of schoolchildren, who will grow up with the ability to study history by seeing how those who took part in the making of history saw events.

During the decade of commemorations, a unique opportunity exists to reach out to different communities, both within Ireland and internationally, and to contribute to the commemoration of the struggle for workers' rights in wider Europe, as well as the women's suffrage movement and the commemoration of all those who fought and died in the First World War. Ireland's contribution during those turbulent times should not be underestimated. As Members are aware, there were times when Ireland led the world. Countess Markievicz was of course the first female Member of Parliament elected to Westminster and was the first female Cabinet Minister in Europe. It is an important element in commemorative planning that a commitment is in place at the outset to approach the sensitive and troubled issues of our divided history with integrity and a genuine spirit of inquiry. In respect of both the annual commemoration of the Great Famine and the continuing work of the centenary programme, we seek to enhance our understanding of these defining events. The exploration of our past in all its complexity and much sadness should not be approached with any view towards recrimination. Those generations have passed into history and their issue should not be carried into our age as a basis of division. Notwithstanding the economic and social challenges being faced in our time, it would be a great wrong to suggest that our condition today can be likened to the horror of the Famine or the misery of the Lock-out. We must continue to challenge ourselves to always strive to improve working conditions and access to basic services and education, as well as to protect vulnerable workers and to combat the scourge of unemployment. As the Government amendment to the motion makes clear, the Government is doing its utmost in that regard. However, the centenary of the Lock-out is a time to commemorate those who lost their lives with dignity and to unite in our respect for the men, women and children who suffered in the fight for the common good.

See this speech in context