Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

153. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will inform the Irish people, both at home and abroad, when she will announce the date for the Ulster 2015 National Famine Memorial Day to remember all the victims of An Gorta Mór; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5517/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

While there has been a degree of continuity in the format and scheduling of the annual National Famine Commemoration ceremony, the date of the ceremony, as well as the artistic and cultural elements, may change from year to year. Although it has proved possible in most years to schedule the commemoration on the second Sunday in May, it has not been considered desirable to fix the same date each year, given the factors that may need to be considered, such as the site selection process, the availability of the lead person to officiate at the ceremony and the general arrangements at community level.

A primary objective of the National Famine Commemoration Committee is to ensure that the 2015 ceremony will be a fitting tribute to those who perished in Ulster during the Great Famine and my Department continues to work with the key stakeholders, North and South, within that framework. I hope to be in a position to announce details of the date and venue of the 2015 National Commemoration in the coming weeks.