Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)

When Pádraig Pearse stood outside the GPO on Easter 1916 to read the Proclamation, he read it not in the hopes that he might one day live to see it, but in the knowledge that the generations of republicans to follow would.

The Proclamation of the Republic is not just a script to put in a picture frame. It is the inspiration of a republic that found a voice in our Proclamation. It was a document so ahead of its time that it still remains an aspiration to all of us who love our country today, the sacred promise of a 32-county republic.

Not only has the Government failed to live up to the spirit of the Republic declared in 1916, but it also now seeks to destroy its legacy by commercialising our sacred site and turning our rebel quarters and our national shrine into a shopping centre and a tourist gimmick. Should we be surprised? This is the same Government that in 2020 sought to commemorate the Black and Tans. It is the same Government that, to our shame, has done nothing to unite Ireland and nothing to advance the 32-county republic that was declared in 1916. A Fine Gael TD spoke last week about making the GPO a place filled with people again. It was not really people he wanted to fill it with, but consumers. A constituent said to me last week that by the time this Government is done desecrating the sanctity of the hallowed grounds, the next commemoration of 1916 will see our Proclamation read in front of a Costa Coffee. Let me remind this Government that it is a steward, not auctioneer. It inherited the promised Republic not built on property deals, but on principles. The Government's duty is to protect our heritage where Irish rebels once bled, not to commodify their sacrifice. Let us stand as the 1916 leaders once did, not for profit, but for purpose and pride. This is more than history. This is our identity. This is Ireland and it is not for sale. The souls of our patriot dead are not for sale either.

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