Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk on this motion this evening. To start, we all have to honour, respect and remember those leaders, men and women who fought for our country in 1916 and around that time, including during the Civil War, and all those who died along the way so we could be here having our own democratic Parliament. Everyone is entitled to talk and say what they believe in here.

My ideal for the GPO would be to maintain it as far as possible and to modernise and develop it. I am sure we need to keep some section of a post office there as part of what it was at that time and to maintain much of what is there. I know it has to be modernised but we should develop it into a modern-type visitor centre where we would attract all our own people, including those from all over the world wherever they have gone to. It would be an attraction for all those who learn going to school what those leaders went through. I do not think it should be commercialised by any entity but the State should have some kind of heritage things there. Whatever way the State could help to fund and maintain it would be fine but selling some other commercial stuff would not be in line with remembering it as it was.

It is sad to see people fighting here over what should be done with it. We should try to work together to ensure it is nice and that the people who fought there in 1916 are remembered properly.

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