Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Last weekend, I noted with great interest the celebrations of the 125th birthday of John A. Costello. As Senators will know, he was the leader of Fine Gael, a Taoiseach and he also declared Ireland a Republic in 1949. Up until that time, Ireland was an active member of the Commonwealth. Relations are now at an all-time high with the new Commonwealth that has a population of 2.2 billion and is comprised of 53 countries, of which 33 are republics. Since 1971, the Queen has only a titular role in the Commonwealth. Now there is support for world peace, liberty, human rights, equality and free trade so it would be a good time to have a debate on whether the Republic of Ireland should consider rejoining the Commonwealth. There are many Irish people and the Irish diaspora who live in the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, so we should not fear rejoining.