Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to address the Seanad on this matter and I thank the Senator for raising it.

As Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, I have a statutory function under section 69(4) of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 in respect of granting consent to An Post for the design and issue of postage stamps. I want to inform the Senator that An Post deals directly with the process of stamp suggestions. In order to allow sufficient time for necessary approvals, research, design and production, the An Post stamp programmes are planned well in advance of the year of issue. In this regard, An Post invites suggestions for stamp subjects 18 to 24 months in advance of each year in question. Senator Feighan will be interested to know that there is currently a call by An Post for suggestions for the 2020 stamp programme. The closing date for receipt of suggestions is Wednesday next, 28 March 2018. The public trawl by An Post for proposals for stamp programmes runs from October each year to March of the following year. An Post requests suggestions from members of the public and various bodies, as well as Ministers and Departments. I put forward my own proposal to An Post that it would consider the festival of Hallowe'en, which has its origins in Rathcroghan, in my county, Roscommon, in this regard. It is amazing to think that a major international festival such as Hallowe'en is commemorated on stamps in the United States, Belgium and Austria but that Ireland - the home of Hallowe'en - does not yet have such a stamp.

All suggestions received by An Post are vetted by the independent philatelic advisory committee, which was set up to advise on the content of each annual stamp programme. The committee recommends the subjects for inclusion in the An Post commemorative stamp programme. Following ratification by the board of An Post, the stamps programme is then forwarded to me, as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, to bring a memorandum to Government for approval. This week, for example, I received Cabinet approval for the 2019 stamp programme that will cover some 35 stamps on 16 different subjects. I shall give an indication of the scale of suggestions. For the 2019 stamp programme, there were 210 suggestions.

In the context of the design of each stamp, these are commissioned by the stamp design advisory committee, an external panel of art and design experts established to direct the design process. Once I am advised by An Post of the designs, I then bring a memorandum to Government for their approval.

I will bring the Senator's suggestion to the attention of An Post, particularly in terms of the Irish navvy, who, despite what is displayed on the screen in the Chamber, has nothing to do with the Irish Naval Service.The Irish navvy played a very important role in building up the United Kingdom and that should be acknowledged. I fully acknowledge the contribution the Senator has made in highlighting that.

Regarding my own family, my grandfather went to the other side of the Atlantic, to the United States, and worked on the trams in Boston. Very many Irish people went abroad and contributed to building up the economies across the globe. That is one aspect of history that we proudly celebrate during our celebrations around St. Patrick's Day. It is not only about the hear and now, it is about the history of the Irish abroad and the way they developed the countries that they made their own. As the Senator knows, many of the Irish navvies fell on very hard, difficult and challenging times. It would be nice to see their contribution to society in the UK acknowledged by way of a stamp. I will bring that recommendation to An Post on foot of the Senator's Commencement matter.