Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The partition of Ireland is the most damaging event in the history of Ireland since the Famine. It set in train decades of second-class citizenship for nationalists and Catholics in the North of Ireland. It institutionalised discrimination and state violence and sundered thousands of villages, towns and communities throughout the Border region. It also hammered the social and economic development of Ireland and has seen the loss of thousands of lives. Even today because of partition, the Tories, who know nothing about Ireland and care nothing about Ireland, still have an enormous influence on how we run this country. Indeed, they can determine how people and products move around our nation.

The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, made a decision not to attend the event scheduled to take place in Armagh city today. He stated that it was inappropriate to attend. Of the events title, the President said that it was not a neutral statement politically. He stated, "What began as a religious service or reconciliation is now the celebrating, the marking... [of] the partition of Ireland and the creation of ... [North of] Ireland." The President is a scholar of Irish history and has a record second to none on reconciliation. We, in Aontú, believe he made the right decision. It is a decision that is supported by the majority of Irish people. I cannot think of another country on this planet that would be involved in the marking, the celebration or the commemoration of the partition of its own country. It is a peculiarity of the Irish psyche that we are even having this discussion here today.

The Government could have presented a united approach on this issue, but instead it disagreed with the President's decision. It has contradicted the words of the President. Does the Minister think the President was wrong? Do the Government's actions not implicitly indicate that it believes the President's actions were wrong? I believe that today the Government is snubbing the President of Ireland by going against his decision and attending the partition commemoration ceremony. How can the Government square the circle? Irrespective of what euphemisms or language the Minister might use in this situation, if the President was right not to attend the event due to its political nature, why is it right for the Government to be represented there?

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