Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I join in the condemnation of the actions of the rioters and I support the response of the Minister and the Garda. Many people have asked whether the riots could have been foreseen but it is easy to be wise in retrospect. Although there is obviously something latent there, this has never happened before and I was surprised by it. One must ask why it is happening now and who these people are. They are not representative of most Irish people and of republicanism in Ireland. These are issues at which we need to look as it will mar our enjoyment of events such as the 1916 celebrations. We will need to look at crowd control measures of the type we examined in London with the Minister where they have had to deal with this type of thing in the context of football matches and so on. There is a need to move ahead with the civilianisation of the Garda.

I refer to the debate on republicanism. The Labour Party is a republican party founded by James Connolly. Two of his children were Members of the Seanad — his son Roddy was also a Labour Party Deputy and his daughter Nora Connolly was nominated to the Seanad by Fianna Fáil, although she was an Independent Senator. James Connolly was also an internationalist and his republicanism was tolerant and inclusive. When people write about Connolly, they all say he looked for common ground with people, even with those who differed with him. He would have been the exact opposite of those who rioted on Saturday.

I wish to take up a point my colleague, Deputy McManus, made about the 1916 celebrations. We need to make it an inclusive celebration. When we celebrate 1916, it should be a celebration of the ideas of the people involved, particularly those of a man like James Connolly who was such a humane person and whose ideas were based on equality and so on. We need to celebrate everyone who was involved in 1916. I come from a republican background and the reason I studied history in college was that I was interested in the 1916 Rising. However, I agree all those involved in 1916, including the people in the British army, should be remembered in our celebrations. That is the type of approach James Connolly would have taken. That is what it should be about. We will take republicanism back from people who are narrow and sectarian in their approach by promoting a republicanism that is about ideas, tolerance and so on.