Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome Deputy MacSharry and his guests to the Visitors Gallery. Today in Dublin, the members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly are gathering for the latter's autumn meeting. Several hundred parliamentarians from across Europe will meet in the convention centre to discuss a range of issues over the next two days. The Leader is a former member of the assembly, as are the Cathaoirleach and Senators Boyhan and Dooley. Our team will be led by Deputy Creed and me, along with Senators Pauline O'Reilly, Clonan and Ruane. This afternoon's session will focus on conflict dialogue facilitation. It is apt that the main speaker this afternoon is none other than Bertie Ahern. Given the man's instrumental role in bringing peace to this island, his insights at a time when so many Members of this House are speaking about conflict this afternoon will be very apt.

At a special meeting of European parliamentarians on the issue of conflict I attended over the weekend in Zagreb, one aspect we touched on was the ethics of political commemoration. The expert who was there touched on the very sensitive issues surrounding political commemoration in Germany, in Slovenia - with Tito - and in Cyprus and held up the example of Ireland because he had examined what happened with the decade of centenaries commemoration here over the past ten years. He stated that it is something which could have reinvigorated hate and resurrected conflict but, instead, Ireland took the opportunity to bring people closer together by handling it in a dignified way that respected all traditions. We are honoured to host the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. It gives us as parliamentarians the chance to speak about our experiences and share them at a time of extreme discord across the Continent.