Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join with colleagues in commending Senator Swanick for introducing the Bill and thank the Minister for her assistance on the matter.I served on the decade of commemorations committee during the centenary of the 1916 Rising. Next year with the centenary of the sitting of the First Dáil, it is important that the occasion be marked and this is a fitting element to it, as we celebrate the declaration to the free nations of the world. Of course, that occasion on 21 January 1919 was relatively short, attendance was particularly poor on the first sitting of the First Dáil, but for good reason. I believe 33 of the Members were on the run or in jail, so the failure to attend was excusable in many ways. I know the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Madigan, has taken over the portfolio from the previous Minister. Much and all as we might have issues with the former strategic communications unit headed by Mr. John Concannon, in his role as head of the 2016 commemorations, together with the then Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, he did an excellent job in marking those events.

I have written to the Minister on a number of occasions regarding the Government's all-party consultation group on the decade of commemorations. This is an important group because during the lead up to 2016, there was no plan, and opportunities were missed. One of the events we need to look at came to my attention when we had a group down from the Shankill Road, who raised the issue of what happened to their community in the Twenty-six Counties during the War of Independence and the Civil War and that it needs to be acknowledged by the State. The wrongs that were perpetrated need to be marked by the State. We need to grasp these issues and they need to be addressed in an appropriate way.

When will the all-party consultation group on the decade of commemorations meet? We in Kerry have already marked the 100th anniversary of the first action in the War of Independence, although the people in County Tipperary would tend to disagree that it happened on 21 January 1919. The boys in Cork claim that the first action of the War of Independence happened on St. Patrick's Day 1918. We need to have a plan. I know there is an expert group and I know the officials are working behind the scenes but I know the all-party group made up of Members of this House and the other House played a key role in identifying and addressing issues. There was talk at one stage that even the GPO would not have had the commemorative centre ready, in that the foundation stone would only be laid in 2016. As a result of pressure from members of the committee, the Taoiseach opened the Witness History Centre in 2016, as should be the case. There were issues about whether there should be a parade. All the issues were addressed in respect of 2016, and now all the issues arising from the centenary celebrations for 2019 need to be addressed. When it comes to the issue of the Civil War, the all-party consultation group is critical in how we address that most tragic period in our nation's history.

This is an important piece of legislation in that as a nation we must mark and commemorate the significant events, not just because of their historical context but because it gives us an opportunity to reflect upon how far we have come and how far we have yet to go to achieve the aims of the 1916 Proclamation and the aims and aspirations of the First Dáil. Other small nations would believe in the words and aims of the Proclamation when it states: "The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally."

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to take this Bill. I commend my colleague, Senator Keith Swanick, for introducing it and getting it to this Stage in the run up to the important anniversary of the first sitting of the First Dáil.