Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 8 Jun 1995

Vol. 454 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Care of National Graves and Monuments.

Dr. O'Hanlon

A matter in the constituency that recently came to my attention is the case of Mr. Tom Sheridan — whose brother was a Member of this House — who was killed in 1920 in the War of Independence. A very fine memorial was erected in Crossdoney at the place on the road where he was killed. The local people who contributed to it, the committee and members of his family, maintained the memorial until recently. His niece looks after the memorial as best she can but she is concerned that it may not be possible to do so in the future. She is anxious that the memorial be looked after. As I understand it no State body undertakes this work. The National Graves Association will look after the Sheridan memorial.

The reason I have raised this issue in the House is to ask the Minister to provide funding for voluntary organisations or arrange some other way for the State to look after these memorials. We owe a debt of gratitude to the people who gave their lives throughout the centuries for the independence we achieved on this part of the island in 1921. I ask the Minister to ensure in future that these memorials are properly looked after. The Wolfe Tone Memorial in Bodenstown is looked after by the National Graves Association and the 1798 memorial in Tralee — which I am sure the Minister will be interested to know is sculpted by the same man, Albert Power who sculpted the Ó Conaire statue in Galway. If the Minister proposes to use voluntary organisations I suggest they be grant-aided for specific memorials that are of national significance.

Mr. Kirk

As my colleague Deputy O'Hanlon outlines, there is clearly a vacuum in the arrangements for maintenance of monuments and graves around the country. Voluntary groups have played their part in looking after these monuments but with the passage of time priorities change. In many instances relatives and near relatives of those commemorated maintained the monuments and Republicn plots around the country. The question of where responsibility lies when they are no longer able to do the work is at the heart of the matter raised on the Adjournment.

As Deputy O'Hanlon states, there does not appear to be a Department with responsibility in this area. We are inviting the Minister to consider the possibility of providing support for what is very necessary and worthwhile work. All of those commemorated have made an immense contribution to the wellbeing of the country in times gone by and it would be negligent of this generation if they failed to honour them by looking after their monuments.

I ask the Minister to consider sympathetically the points we have made.

Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht (Mr. M. Higgins)

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an bheirt Teachta a thóg an t-ábhar seo suas mar is ábhar tábhachtach é.

I am very grateful to Deputies O'Hanlon and Kirk for drawing the attention of the House to this important topic. Let me assure them that I regard the matter they have raised as one of importance and I share their view. They have asked me to deal sympathetically with it and I will as far as I can. I concur with the sentiment that those who are honoured by memorials are people who have made it possible for us to have an Adjournment debate this afternoon. There are many others, sadly too many, whose achievements should be marked by memorials but are not. All my instincts are similar and supportive of the sentiments expressed by the Deputies opposite and that is something we should share in this House.

I wish to express my appreciation of the work of the National Graves Association and other groups who voluntarily give of their time and effort to look after graves and memorials of people who gave service to this country. The position is as the Deputies state, that a number of Ministers have varying responsibilities in relation to graves such as the Ministers for the Environment, Defence and Finance, through the Office of Public Works. For my part, the only mechanism available under the aegis of my Department to allocate grants to local groups would be the Heritage Council, which I will be appointing before the end of this month. The Heritage Act, 1995, under which the new statutory council will be established sets out the council's terms of reference and while they are very broad, they do not seem to extend to making available the type of grant envisaged by the Deputies. The council will, of course, be an independent statutory body and will be free to examine any project submitted to it to determine if it comes within its statutory remit. If it was prepared to make a proposal to me I would give it sympathetic consideration. I would like to go a bit further and there is a possibility, perhaps, of some assistance being made available by way of FÁS. In the spirit in which this matter has been raised I am anxious to be of assistance and I will consult with my colleagues to see how this matter, which has slipped as it were between Departments during the lifetime of a number of Governments, can be dealt with and if I can I will come forward with other suggestions even those that are beyond my narrow remit.

Dr. O'Hanlon

We appreciate that.