Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Very rarely has the Minister received so many compliments in one Dáil sitting, but I believe his decision to restore history to special core status in the junior cycle is correct and that the decision to remove it as a core subject was a mistake. The Minister has been very courageous in going against the advice and restoring it as a core subject.

The study of history is essential to understanding the world around us. It gives context to what we are and where we have come from, not only in our own history but world history. To paraphrase Diarmaid Ferriter's profound statement, to make sense of the present, we must know and respect the past. It is essential that children understand the evolution of nations and peoples, the flaws of history and its successes, in order that they understand their own origins - nationally, culturally, politically and economically. How else are children to understand the current intricacies of the Brexit debate, the significance of the backstop, the importance of the Good Friday Agreement, the background to the conflict in Northern Ireland and the foundation of the State coming out of the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War? It is extremely important that children understand that context, and that is just our national history. They must also understand the intricacies and the interaction of religion and politics, and the interaction of race and geography.

Knowledge of history allows children to be analytical and informed and to determine what is real news and what is fake news. That is so important in our current era of digital history and digital news. A case in point is the denial of the Holocaust, which was a black mark on Europe. It occurred only 80 years ago, yet there are now people who deny that it happened. We therefore need to give children the ability to be analytical and to identify what is real and what is not. History is about far more than dates, battles and names, or tweets or Facebook; it is far more about human development, which was driven by philosophical thought and evolution of civilisation and civilisations. History gives a sense of citizenship, perspective, belonging and identity. Today we in Ireland see ourselves as Irish but also European. We have decided to see our future as part of a supportive, inclusive European ideal rather than an isolationist, exclusive, inward-looking country. Knowledge of history has informed this enlightened way of thinking, and without that knowledge we would be diminished.

I thank the Minister for his decision to restore history to the core curriculum.

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