Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)

The public is outraged by the Government's plan to turn the GPO into mainly shopping units and offices. The GPO is the most iconic site of our country's fight for freedom. It is the place where the Irish Republic was declared and where it was bravely defended during the Easter Rising. It is disgraceful stuff coming from the Government. If that is not enough, the Government refused to name the new national children's hospital after Dr. Kathleen Lynn, a pioneer medic and a heroine of 1916. The Dáil voted unanimously in April to name the hospital after Dr. Lynn, but that was ignored. Instead, €4,500 of taxpayers' money was spent to come up with a name. What did it come up with? Wait for it - the National Children's Hospital Ireland. Is this a joke? In no other country that fought for its freedom would you have a government so blatantly disrespecting and vandalising its hallowed ground and history. I am sure we all remember that the Tánaiste's party and the Government of which he was part wanted us to commemorate the Black and Tans just five years ago. Given what the Government is doing in terms of the GPO and given the disrespect it shows to Dr. Kathleen Lynn, what have Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil got against the heroic men and women of 1916?

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