Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to deal with this matter. While this month will see the end of the 1916 Rising commemorations, centenary commemorations will commence again on the anniversary of the death of Thomas Ashe who, of course, was born in Lispole, County Kerry. He was involved in the 1916 Rising, tried on the same day as Éamon de Valera and sentenced to death, a sentence which was commuted to one of penal servitude. He went on hunger strike with another Kerry man, Austin Stack, during which he was forcibly fed.

While we celebrate and commemorate the bravery of the men of 1916, the 100th anniversary of the death of Thomas Ashe is relevant because the forcible feeding of prisoners continues to this day, most notably at Guantanamo Bay. While we mark the anniversary of his death, we must also highlight the fact that the death he endured and the punishment he received - he remained on a cold prison cell floor in a weakened condition for 50 hours before being subjected to forced feeding - constituted human rights abuses that continue to happen today. That is part of the reason we must highlight the injustices that continue to happen today, even though we will be commemorating an event that happened 100 years ago.

What does the Government plant to do to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Thomas Ashe and highlight human rights issues, in particular the abuse of the rights of prisoners and the abuses perpetrated by countries with which we are great friends? That friendship does not mean that we will not criticise them when they are wrong. When the United States of America engages in the form of punishment it uses for prisoners, we must not be silent. We must stand up for the rights of prisoners, irrespective of the reasons for which they are imprisoned. I look forward to hearing what the Government plans to do to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Thomas Ashe.