Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire. Cuireann Sinn Féin roimh an mBille seo. Go baileach, baineann an Bille seo leis an dúchas. Tá sé scríofa ag an antraipeolaí Éireannach Diarmuid Ó Giolláin go gciallaíonn dúchas go bunúsach "an nádúr dosheachanta agus an oidhreacht" agus go mbaineann "an réigiún arb as do dhuine agus an teanga a labhrann sé lena oidhreacht". Tá sé tábhachtach nach ndíríonn muid isteach ar fhoirgnimh agus iarsmlanna amháin agus muid ag plé an ábhair seo. Déantar go leor dochair gach bliain do theangacha agus do chultúir daoine ar fud an domhain. Go minic is tri fhaillí a dhéantar an dochar seo, go háirithe sa tír seo.

A total of 126 states are party to the treaty we are discussing today. Four states - Andorra, Britain, Ireland and the Philippines - have signed the treaty but have yet to ratify it. I wish to acknowledge the work of my colleague, Carál Ní Chuilín, in this regard. When she served as Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure in the Six Counties, she supported the passage of similar legislation through the Northern Ireland Assembly.

I broadly welcome the definition of "cultural property" set out in section 1 of the Bill. It is useful to be cognisant of the various aspects of cultural property in this country during peacetime. It would be farcical for us to lament the destruction of the Arch of Triumph at the Roman settlement of Palmyra in Syria without applying the same standards to the preservation of our historical revolutionary quarter at Moore Street. While I accept that this Bill involves giving effect to the terms of the Hague Convention, I must mention the appalling treatment of our cultural heritage by the current Government. While we are at peace, thankfully, I wonder whether outsiders looking in would consider that our Government is guilty of the destruction of cultural property through gross negligence and ignorance. The Minister of State with responsibility for the Gaeltacht is refusing to meet Conradh na Gaeilge. The effect of the decision to use moneys from the centenary fund to fight a legal battle against the Save Moore Street campaign is to side with developers whose only appreciation of culture is from the pictures on bank notes.

I welcome this Bill and support it wholeheartedly. It is unfortunate that it is timely due to events in Syria. Western news outlets recently carried images of ISIS members destroying artefacts and buildings which they viewed as idolatrous or not in line with their myopic vision. In 2001, the world watched as the Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban. All of these events were crimes against civilisation. The destruction that has been caused will leave future generations culturally poorer and less able to fully interpret the past. War destroys communities physically and socially. The task of rebuilding after armed conflict is made all the more difficult if cultural property has been destroyed. Culture helps to bind communities together and gives cohesion in times of change and reconciliation.

I must ask whether this convention will retrospectively look at the case of the Palestinians. Over many years and through constant misplacement and military action, Palestine has shrunk to a fraction of what it once was. Its language, customs and physical heritage have been eroded away at a pace just slow enough not to elicit outrage from the international community, as in the recent cases of Syria and Mali.

I note from the Bill that there is a provision for awarding Blue Shield status in the event of armed conflict. I would like to raise a technical point in that regard. I appreciate that the Minister might not be able to answer this question. The difficulty with the prosecution of the cultural destruction in Syria is that Syria is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and, therefore, it is necessary for Syria to make a direct request to the International Criminal Court to carry out an investigation or to get the UN Security Council to do so. Will this legislation now cover all countries regardless of their status in the International Criminal Court?

As this initiative is being driven by UNESCO and western powers, there is a danger that it may be seen as western powers telling the rest of the world how to preserve their heritage. There is also a danger that due to advances in satellite technology and news reporting, only terrorist groups are highlighted as destroying cultural property. The recent air bombing campaign by Saudi Arabia against the native population of Yemen has resulted in the destruction of a UNESCO world heritage site. The same Saudi bombers were armed with weapons provided by the British Government and tacitly supported by it through its abject silence and refusal to condemn the fanatic religious regime in Saudi Arabia. All sides are guilty of this type of destruction.

It is interesting that in the years after the Hague Convention was signed in 1954, the British Government allowed the Welsh village of Capel Celyn to be drowned to provide drinking water for Liverpool Corporation.This village was a vibrant community with native Welsh speakers living and working in the valley. They, of course, resisted the scheme and even received a letter giving strong support from no less than Éamon de Valera. I raise this simply to point out that while cultural property must be defended during armed conflict, there is much destruction that occurs in peacetime democracies with the assent of democratic bodies, yet its effects are the same as bombing in wartime. Capel Celyn is now submerged and its native speakers are gone. It might as well have been bombed.

The days immediately after the illegal British-American invasion of Iraq saw looting of cultural institutions and their contents on a shocking scale. The invaders had no plan. They did not even envisage that this could happen. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that they either thought these cultural institutions were unworthy of protection or, in a true colonialist manner, that the cultural property was not on a par with their own and, therefore, no big loss if looted or destroyed.

I welcome this Bill but Sinn Féin wants to see the application of its core principles in this country, and at all times. Ba chóir go mbeadh na pionóis chéanna atá leagtha amach sa Bhille i bhfeidhm sa tír seo dóibh siúd a dhéannann coireanna i gcoinne an chultúir trí reachtaíocht agus cásanna cúirte.