Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after “That” were it firstly occurs and substitute the following:“with effect from 9 May 2017, the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to Public Business be amended by the adoption of the following in substitution for Standing Order 27:‘27. Upon taking the Chair each day, and before any business is entered upon, the Ceann Comhairle shall ask all Members present to stand for 60 seconds of silent reflection.’.”

This is a very important issue but it is not the most important issue. I would much rather be debating something of major substance rather than having to deal with a fudge that the Committee on Procedure came up with. Others have tried to say that the Committee on Procedure unanimously agreed to this change. We did not. I argued, as I have done since I was elected to this House, that the prayer should be replaced with a moment's reflection.

Deputies have spoken about it being a tradition. It may be a tradition in this House and it has been a tradition in British parliaments since Queen Elizabeth I. All this State did was carry on that tradition. In doing so, it insulted every other religion and every other religion that has been reflected in this House since. Members are specifically asked to stand, honour and seek the help of a lord that many people do not believe in within this House and outside it and of a prophet in whom many people in this House over the years have not believed.

I am not insulting those of a Christian faith or those who believe in God or a god. What I am saying is that this is supposed to be a republic. A republic is supposed to honour or respect equally all of those people. It is also supposed to separate church and state, but that is not what is happening in this proposal. This proposal is more insulting than it was before because Members are now expected to stand to attention to listen to a prayer and then reflect for a moment. If there was a moment's silence as I had indicated, everybody individually could reflect on whatever religion or none that they stood for. That is why I have put forward the amendment in order for us to do what most modern parliaments and those that have been set up in recent times have done, that is, to have a moment's reflection or prayer in silence. If we are in a republic, we should not force a religion upon those of a different religion. That is not what we have in this proposal. If people believe in the republic of the Proclamation, of Wolfe Tone or of the founding fathers of this State, then they may understand that we have to show that respect. We do not expect others to jump through the same religious hoops that they stand for. My belief is that we should have a moment's reflection because we need to think about what we are doing in this House. We need that moment's pause.

I was only told tonight that in some factories in Japan there is a 20 minute silence in which to reflect. I am not expecting people to stand for 20 minutes. However, I do believe we need to take time out, whatever one's religion, to think about what is coming ahead and what we did the previous day. If one is religious, call it a prayer. Call it a moment's reflection if one is not. That would be more reflective of the separation of church and State, or State and church in particular in this instance. This is the Legislature and it is supposed to reflect all or as many of the views of all the people of this State as possible. I do not think it is doing so in this proposal.

None of the legislative assemblies set up by the British in Stormont, Scotland or Wales has prayers. They have a moment's reflection. If people are interested, there was quite a good summary done of the various parliaments around the world. It was interesting that most of the parliaments that have stuck to a prayer beseeching our Lord are those that are former colonies of the British. Many of the other modern parliaments and legislatures set up since the Second World War in particular have moved away from a specific religious prayer to a moment's reflection or a moment's silence.

That is the move we should pursue rather than the current one which involves quite a sectarian prayer being put before us each day when we start our work.

See this speech in context