Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment the Ceann Comhairle, the Cathaoirleach, Clerk of the Dáil, Clerk of the Seanad, the staff of the Dáil and Seanad, the Office of Public Works, and the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission on the event to mark the 100th anniversary of the First Dáil on 21 January 1919, which was commemorated on the same day in 2019 in the Round Room of the Mansion House and which was a marvellous success. It was a fitting tribute to the men and women who established the First Dáil. I salute their courage, commitment and bravery. They were subject to arrest for sedition against the Crown and the Government of the United Kingdom, yet they went there openly and were prepared to form the First Dáil.The Government of Great Britain may have learned a lesson from its actions in 1916 but I do not think it ever accepted the ability of those men and women to establish a new state following years of oppression.

The excellent graphics at Monday's event, the wonderful presentations by all concerned, including our Cathaoirleach, and all the material available in the Mansion House should be put in place in this room when the Seanad returns to its original home in Leinster House. This is an excellent room and it could be used to commemorate the first 100 years of the Dáil and, in the future, please God, the Seanad. The graphics and audiovisual presentation in the corridor here are second to none. They are of the highest standard and an example of the ability of Irish people to create displays of this type. I do not think anyone who was present at Monday's event would be anything other than impressed by the audiovisual presentation. All that material should be retained for students who come to visit Leinster House. There are plenty of display walls here. The area in the coffee dock and the material in the corridor and throughout the House should all be retained carefully and put on display again here. It was well done indeed. If there is any duplication, I suggest that the relevant material be retained in the Round Room of the Mansion House as another location where people might appreciate the work. Through the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, the Cathaoirleach, the Clerk to the Seanad and the Leader should table that as a proposal or a recommendation from Seanad Éireann to the Government, the Office of Public Works and the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.