Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Minister and congratulate her on her reappointment. I agree with the sentiment of the previous speaker who spoke about how we celebrated 1916. There was a great political maturity about how we did it and that is why it was so successful, because the narrative was discussed and the engagement was through arts, music and all the great things we have in this country of which we are proud. We celebrated and interpreted that through various interactive media and it worked. We celebrated the event and our diversity. There was an acknowledgement of our different cultures and traditions and respect for them. It was terribly important that we acknowledged and respected the diversity of the island of Ireland, its often troubled history and how we have coalesced. There is a greater political maturity about how we do our politics both here, in the North and on the island of Ireland. I always tend to emphasise all the great things on the island of Ireland, be it agriculture, commerce or anything else, because that is really our strength. The more we identify what unites us the less significant or relevant are the issues that divide us.

I commend Senator Swanick and I also commend Senators Diarmuid Wilson, Mark Daly and Paul Daly, who are the co-signatories of his work. It is very simple legislation and one has to ask why it did not happen long ago. It is quite extraordinary that here we are doing this simple little thing to mark a significant event all this time later. When I first heard about the Declaration of Independence Day, I said I would oppose it if it was intended to be a bank holiday. I thought of IBEC and all the other bodies. People are working hard in this country to keep business, commerce and the economy going and I do not support any additional bank holidays. That is a personal view which I wish to share. This island needs to prosper and we need the economy to be strong. We need working days and, quite frankly, people working. However, when I read more about it, I realised that what Senator Swanick is attempting to do is to recognise the meeting of the First Dáil and the Declaration of Independence made on 21 January 1919 and to provide for a Declaration of Independence Day to be held on 21 January annually.

I fully support the proposal but it is important we do not just say we are having a day to celebrate the Declaration of Independence and that we go one step further and start here in the Houses of the Oireachtas, because we are here because many people made great sacrifices in the early days. We know about the British Government's attempt to suppress the early Dáil and the difficulties surrounding it. There must have been enormous difficulties for people who had to come out publicly and seek to establish Dáil Éireann. It is important there is a multifaceted approach and activity in order that it is a meaningful day for politicians in the Houses of the Oireachtas in terms of how we celebrate and recognise the importance of that day, but also in schools, the arts and culture. We can do in a smaller way what the Minister did to commemorate 1916. It does not have to be all razzmatazz. It can be a simple and appropriate part of a day where we acknowledge our past and our history and why we have the Houses of the Oireachtas. I support the Bill. I am delighted Fine Gael supports the Bill. There does not seem to be any divisiveness on the issue. I hope it will go well. I again thank the Minister.