Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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705. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the new State commemorations committee will include any member with experience of the labour or trade union movement or its history; if this was considered when appointing members; if not, whether he will rectify same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29485/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Commemorations Advisory Committee was established to provide independent and expert advice to the State and key stakeholders regarding the appropriate remembrance of significant historical events, personalities and themes which have shaped modern Ireland.

Careful consideration went into the selection of committee members and they have been drawn from the fields of academia, politics, media as well as our National Cultural Institutions.

Each member will bring expertise gained from their respective backgrounds which will be of considerable support to all those involved in delivering appropriate, authentic and citizen-focused commemorations at national, county and community level. The independent nature of the members will ensure the integrity of future commemorative activity.

We appreciate that the period beyond the Decade of Centenaries, could be described as a time of great societal change. This incorporates many diverse themes such as labour; social, cultural and civic movements, innovation in infrastructure, and gender and class to name but a few. It would not be possible to have experts of every field on the Commemorations Advisory Committee therefore we have selected a varied group with diverse experience and from across a wide range of fields.

The established structure of commemorations also ensure that events and themes that should be remembered are identified. One of the main functions of the Committee will be to consult widely with academic, community and voluntary groups and members of the public to ensure that significant events are commemorated appropriately. This means that interested parties who have themselves identified key centenary moments or particular themes, could be supported by the State, through my Department.

If Deputy O’Donoghue is aware of events or themes in the area of labour history or trade union history that he believes merits support I ask him to share these details with my Department and discuss a potential partnership. This approach has worked successfully in the past, including my Department’s support of the Irish Labour History Society’s International Conference Visions of Labour and Class in Ireland and Europe in 2023, and support for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in developing a programme of activities to explore the role of the labour movement in the Struggle for Independence, in collaboration with the Irish Centre for the Histories of Labour and Class, at the now University of Galway in 2019.