Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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9. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the commemorative events that will be taking place in 2014 to acknowledge the centenary of the First World War and to remember the large number of Irish citizens who fought and died in the war. [3951/14]

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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26. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide in detail the programme of events planned to commemorate the historic events between 2014 and 2018; the stage of planning these events are at; and if grants will be made available to ensure community-based events will be supported. [4014/14]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I think this question was originally addressed to the Taoiseach. We are well into the decade of commemorations and there have been initiatives in respect of the digital archive, developed by Google and the In Flanders Field Museum. There are intense discussions, particularly in the United Kingdom, about this commemoration. Many would like the emphasis to be on the 49,000 young Irishmen who tragically lost their lives in this military disaster. What cultural and educational events does the Minister intend to hold in commemoration of them?

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 26 together.

With regard to commemorative events related to 2014, Deputies will be aware that significant occasions thus far have included the launch by the Taoiseach of the Military Pensions Service Archive online project at the GPO, at which I was very pleased to attend with the Minister for Justice and Equality and for Defence, Deputy Alan Shatter, as well as the launch by the Tánaiste at Google headquarters of the digitisation of Ireland's First World War memorial record. In addition, a provision of €6 million has been made in my Department's Vote for commemorative projects, including the GPO interpretative centre, and progress on these projects continues apace. Plans are also in place to mark the centenary of Cumann na mBan, the 1914 activities of the Ulster and Irish Volunteers, the Curragh Camp mutiny, as well as the enactment of the Third Home Rule Bill and the outbreak and escalation of the First World War.

Unrelated, of course, to the decade of centenaries, a significant programme is in place to commemorate the millennium of the Battle of Clontarf.

Deputies will be aware of the several initiatives over recent years to establish a framework for the commemoration of the First World War. It is appropriate that the service and loss of many thousands of Irish men and women in a terrible and tragic conflict would be acknowledged and understood. Following the historic timeline, the programme to commemorate the First World War will continue to evolve up until 2018, marking the salient anniversaries of particular significance. The Irish experience in the First World War is, of course, only one theme of a comprehensive commemorative programme that will seek to examine all aspects of Irish life and society in the revolutionary age.

Information on the developing commemorative programme will be available on my Department's website and individual announcements will issue for specific events. I recommend that people keep in touch with the Century Ireland online newspaper. I remain, as always, grateful to hear from Deputies with any views on commemorative arrangements.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I note the Minister's comments in regard to the spending of €6 million. Is there a specific website in regard to all the upcoming events? Are any more discussion fora planned, such as the forum recently held by the UCC history school, at which one of Prime Minister Cameron's directors of the commemoration spoke?

Is there any concern in Government that the emphasis should be on events linking the two parts of this island with Scotland, Wales and the English regions, and with smaller countries generally which suffered grievously in this senseless and crazy slaughter, such as, for example, Serbia, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria and other countries which were dragged into this holocaust through the gangster capitalist leadership of the big powers in the run-in to 1914? Does the Minister have concerns that, because of recent statements of the British Prime Minister, the Irish Government could be dragged into military commemorations which attempt to justify the militarism and gangsterism that produced the First World War? I note the Taoiseach has been in Ypres and commemorations are also planned for Mons and other battle sites.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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We are following a timeline of events. To date, we have commemorated the introduction of the Home Rule Bill, the establishment of the Volunteers and a number of other events of that period. Our focus at the moment is very much on the commemoration of Cumann na mBan. That will happen in April and we have major events organised for that commemoration. My overall objective is to commemorate these events in a very respectful, inclusive and tolerant fashion, and that has been the tone of the commemorations to date, namely, that people are included in them.

Some 49,000 Irish men died in the First World War - it was mostly men who died, obviously - and given that others also died in the service of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America, that number is probably even higher. We will have to ensure we can commemorate the shared history we have with Northern Ireland, the UK and Europe. That is the purpose of all this. We are working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Glasnevin towards having some memorial in Glasnevin to commemorate that.

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his answer. To have real meaning, the Government must take the lead in providing funding and a diary of events which communities can build upon. Events should not solely be in Dublin. I urge the Minister to think big and act local. We need big events that capture the imagination on an all-Ireland basis. I would also urge that we tie in with our colleagues in the Assembly. Does the Minister agree that we also need the local events that tap into local energy and allow local groups become central to remembering our collective history? These events should also allow people, who for many generations may have been divided, to come together and to work, remember and learn from our past.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I agree with Deputy McLellan. This is an ideal opportunity for people on this island to share our history as much as possible. Even recently, the united Unionist committee on commemorations organised an exhibition in Glasnevin on their position on Home Rule, which was very well received and very successful. It is that type of spirit of tolerance from the Republic that I believe will help to ensure all the events of commemoration during the decade of centenaries will be done in a very inclusive way.

With regard to local events, I completely agree with the Deputy. Obviously, there will be a major focus on 1916. There will have to be, as that is the seminal event in Irish history and where this House originated from. Therefore, we will have a major focus on what happened in 1916, which is why the money is now put aside for the exhibition centre in the GPO.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Minister.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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However, I agree with the Deputy that there will have to be events throughout the country, so we are providing for that. The money is put aside for Teach an Phiarsaigh in Connemara-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I will let the Minister in again later.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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On the remembrance of the individual men who died, we have known this information since 1923 and the digital archive was published recently. Are there any plans to have a digital archive of all the 203,000 who served?

I note that the first big British commemoration is based in Glasgow. Some interpret this as being a political device to use the commemoration of the First World War to destroy the movement towards Scottish independence. Again, is it not important there is not an attempt to drag our State and Government into a military-political commemoration which is really at the service of the current Tory and Whig leadership of the UK?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Has Deputy McLellan a supplementary question?

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister was just about to tell me something about Teach an Phiarsaigh. I would be interested if he could continue on that.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We must conclude shortly but the Minister may respond.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The money has been provided for Teach an Phiarsaigh, which is very important. In Leitrim, the OPW did an excellent job on Seán Mac Diarmada's house. There is an issue there with car parking, and it is to be hoped we can look after that. In Cloughjordan, the local community made a great effort and there is a very nice interpretative centre for Thomas MacDonagh. I have attended other events around the country. I was in Cork last weekend for a very good seminar. I want to recognise the work of UCC and what it is doing for the decade of commemorations, as are the other universities and high third level institutions.

In reply to Deputy Broughan, we are organising our own decade of commemorations in this country and, as I said, we are doing it in a very inclusive, respectful and tolerant way. We will not in any way be led by anybody else as regards how we are going to organise our commemorations. Where there are opportunities to commemorate our shared history, we will do that and we are doing that. However, we are going to do this in our own very independent way. To date, I think we have done it very well and we are going to continue along those lines. We will not at all be influenced by other commemorations but, where we can, we will certainly share. We will show proper respect to the people who died in 1916, the War of Independence and the Civil War, and also to those Irish people who went to fight for Ireland, as they thought, in the First World War. They fought for Ireland in the First World War and they fought for Ireland in the War of Independence.