Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join in the welcome to the Minister. I also welcome the positivity of the designation of these new events. I commend the Minister not only on the order he has brought to the House but on the process that led to it. It is positive to have that level of public engagement and discussion around what we value as a society, what we want broadcast free-to-air and what we feel is part of our national culture and sporting heritage that we should share together. It was a commendable process with a positive outcome.

It is significant for Gaelic football and hurling. I am particularly pleased because my cousin played in nine all-Ireland ladies football finals that these events are being recognised. I commend all the women in sport in Ireland who have in recent years pushed strongly to demand parity of recognition like women in so many other areas. As Senator Lombard said, this should be reflected in commentary panels and management teams, and other aspects of sport. It is not just about playing. Women have extraordinary physical and mental abilities and there is excellence in all sports played by women in Ireland. I hope more women's sports will be added to this list in future.

As previous speakers said, 46,000 people attended the All-Ireland Ladies Football Final this year and that number will increase. The signal from the State of improved parity of esteem and parity of recognition is important. I hope that the semi-finals in both codes will make the list following the next three-year review. The semi-finals and finals of the men's football and hurling competitions are free-to-air.

This is a positive moment for women in sport and free-to-air broadcasting.The reason we get to make this decision and can have a list to which we add events that should be publicly available to view - the reason we have a national broadcaster at all - goes back to 1993 and the exception culturelle. I refer to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, GATT, talks. Jacques Delors and other Ministers, including our own culture Minister at the time, took a stand and insisted that, in these trade agreements, culture had to be treated differently. The translation of the exception culturellestates that we need to recognise that cultural goods and services encompass value, identity and meanings that go beyond their strictly commercial value. That was an important marker that was laid down back in the 1990s. At the time, it was said that only Europe was in a position to demand that culture be treated rightly in those trade agreements. It is notable that one year later, in 1994, Canada copied the exception. It became a standard and, within the World Trade Organization now, we see much stronger rights for nations in areas like broadcasting and the right to shape cultural identity. It has become a principle in trade.

I am raising this now because I have been urging Ireland and Europe to take a stand again in trade negotiations and to demand higher standards. When we do put down a marker, as I have urged this House, the Government and the European Commission negotiators to do, when we demand better standards and ensure that we protect the public interests of citizens across Europe, we get a better outcome and contribute to a better kind of trade. This wonderful moment today, when we can discuss what matters outside the commercial context, was won by bravery in the 1990s. I ask the Minister to feed this point back to the Government. Are there other areas which encompass values and meaning that go beyond strictly commercial value? How are we working to protect them in trade today? I commend the Minister, the process and the outcome and I look forward to watching all these matches further via our national broadcaster.