Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I welcome the distinguished visitors and ambassadors to the House. As leader of the Labour Party group and Deputy Leader of the Seanad, I am very pleased to welcome the grand secretary on this historic occasion, the first visit by a member of the Orange Order to the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is very good to see him and his colleagues in the Chamber. I do not see any Orangewomen among the Orangemen, but I look forward to welcoming sisters as well as brothers in the future.

As the Leader observed, the Seanad is ideally suited to the role of seeking to further the interests of peace and reconciliation on this island. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Senator Martin McAleese who has played such a significant role in ensuring this visit took place. Senator Cummins referred to the origins of this Seanad in the Irish Free State Senate which was set up specifically to ensure a disproportionately high representation for members of minority faiths on the island. Indeed, if one looks further back to the Home Rule Bills of the 1880s in which an Upper House was first proposed, one again sees the intention to ensure an inclusivity of traditions in the Upper House. We are honouring that important tradition today. I am proud to have been elected to this House to represent the graduates of the University of Dublin from North and South and elsewhere in the world. There are many graduates of Trinity College from both communities in Northern Ireland and I have had great pleasure in visiting some of them. I see the same spirit of inclusivity in this House in that we have a disproportionate representation for graduates of what was traditionally the Protestant university. This Seanad, the 24th, has instituted a 30-second silence, which Mr. Nelson and his colleagues will have noted took place before the Christian prayer in both Irish and English. The purpose of this initiative is to recognise and acknowledge those Members who are not of the Christian faith.

In welcoming Mr. Nelson and his colleagues, we should not take an uncritical approach which seeks to leave aside any acknowledgement of the differences that have arisen in the past. Many people in the Labour Party and other parties have been very critical of the historic role of the Orange Order. The Cathaoirleach mentioned that many of us would, in the past, have seen the organisation as one which used intimidatory tactics, with the shadow of Drumcree and other parades looming large. I shared the misgivings of many people in my party and other parties when the prospect of Mr. Nelson's visit to the House was first raised. Many of us have had those same misgivings. It is honest and straightforward to acknowledge that today. It is also honest and straightforward to acknowledge that many of us have a difficulty with some of the internal rules of the Orange Order. However, leaving that aside, this visit must be seen as a step towards greater recognition and understanding of different traditions, roles and organisations.

When listening to Mr. Nelson's speech, I was struck by the idea of Orange parades and festivals as having a cultural tourism significance. There would be a very different perception of parades in that context as part of a Tourism Ireland approach. It is long past time that we left the past behind and moved forward from the intimidation that went on in both communities in Northern Ireland and that in the name of all the victims of the Troubles we seek to takes steps towards reconciliation.

Senator Jimmy Harte, a Labour Senator from Donegal, told me that in the 1940s and 1950s in Raphoe, the Orange band shared musical instruments with the Ancient Order of Hibernians and that there was a give and take and communal working together between them, with the Ancient Order of Hibernians helping to teach pipers in the Orange Order. Perhaps reconciliation and peaceful accommodation have a longer tradition than we might think.

Mr. Nelson mentioned the current issue of Protestant schools. The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, who is a member of the Labour Party, has taken huge steps towards ensuring greater pluralism in the patronage of primary schooling on this island, a process which I know many members of different faiths are excited and enthusiastic about. I believe we will see changes in patronage of primary schools as a result of that process.

On behalf of the Labour group, it gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the role of the Seanad in helping us to take these historic steps towards greater peace and reconciliation on this island. We are now at a point where we are looking for common ground and things that can be shared between the different traditions and faiths on the island, North and South. It is in that spirit that we welcome Mr. Nelson here, in the hope that we can make history less of a burden and more of an asset for all of us and that we can share common ground while acknowledging the concerns about the ground we do not yet share.