Bertie Ahern
Question:1 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach the reason he did not mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Irish Free State with a State event. [11268/97]
Ceisteanna — Questions. - Irish Free State Anniversary.
As the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Doyle, informed the Deputy in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 1 on 17 December 1996, the Government approved the issue of 12 special stamps this year to mark the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the State.
There are differing views on when the State was established. In office in 1994, Fianna Fáil was involved in arranging at public expense a Government reception to mark the 75th anniversary of the meeting of the first Dáil, the event generally regarded by it as making the establishment of the State.
I did not consider it appropriate to hold, at public expense, a second function marking the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the State but equally did not wish to let 1997 pass without marking in an appropriate way the remarkable achievements of the 1922 Provisional Government in laying the foundations on which subsequent Governments were enabled to build. Hence, the issuance of the stamps. Fine Gael also held a successful function on 17 April 1997 to mark the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the State.
I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. I agree there are different views on the date but would it not be better to commemorate such matters on an inclusive basis? I had no difficulty in commending the generous contributions to the State by many of the people who worked in the Cumann na nGaedheal Government in 1922 — Michael Collins, W.T. Cosgrave, Kevin O'Higgins and Paddy McGilligan. We should try to commemorate the 75th anniversary on an inclusive basis to show that we are capable of putting divisions behind us and agree that we should not try for political purposes to substitute civil war history for civil war politics. This is the way I wish to see Irish politics move in the years ahead. In my speeches I have tried to acknowledge the contribution of the people in our parties between 1922 and 1937 who played a major role in developing the State. The Taoiseach made no reference to Éamon de Valera or any of the other people who worked hard in the 1930s in his speech and that is wrong.
First, I made an approving reference to Éamon de Valera in my speech at the Fine Gael function. Second, the Deputy is not right in suggesting it is inappropriate for political parties to commemorate important national events. Last weekend his party held an exclusive commemoration of a national event to which no other party was invited. I did not criticise that. Therefore, the Deputy does not have any grounds for criticising my party for organising a function to commemorate another important national event a few weeks ago.
The inclusive nature of these commemorations is clearly shown by the fact that I attended one, as leader of Fine Gael, in the Mansion House in 1994 to commemorate the foundation of the Dáil. While I might have some criticism of the details of the arrangements for that function, it was organised on an inclusive basis. In so far as the commemoration of the foundation of the Provisional Government is concerned — which is a date not necessarily accepted by the Deputy's party as the date of the foundation of the State — the Government has also taken an inclusive approach to this through the issuance of stamps which are open to all to purchase. Nobody is excluded from commemorating that event. The stamps were not issued to commemorate the date but the services founded by that Government, such as the Civil Service, the Garda Síochána and the Army and to place an emphasis on the services that have developed subsequently. That was appropriate.
I am aware, for instance, that it was very strongly stated by a previous leader of the Deputy's party that he did not accept 1922 as the appropriate date for the foundation of the State. On 9 December 1971 Mr. Jack Lynch said that he clearly believed the appropriate date was the meeting of the first Dáil. That was commemorated and I attended the function.
I acknowledge the Taoiseach's reference to Éamon de Valera in his speech. I read one except from it in a newspaper and it did not contain such a reference.
However, this is not just a question of the date. The Taoiseach can hold Fine Gael functions every night of the week, it is none of my business but there should be at least one State function during the year. Perhaps, both of us could agree on 6 December, regardless of the positions we hold. That would be an appropriate day as it is the 75th anniversary of the handing over of rule from the British to the Irish Government. These commemorations are important and it is also important they are celebrated in an inclusive way, regardless of the date. The year 1916 was the start of the movement and that date is as important as the meeting of the first Dáil. Will there be an inclusive function to commemorate the events of 75 years ago during the year?
I acknowledge the Deputy's comments. One of the reasons we did not want to hold a national commemoration was that the Deputy's party had not in the past acknowledged the relevance of this date and we did not wish to get involved in an event that would be seen as divisive or offensive to any party. The Deputy's comments remove that difficulty and that is good. There are difficulties in deciding what is the date to be used. The Treaty was signed on 6 December 1921 without which there could not have been a Provisional Government. The next date was 6 January 1922 when the Treaty was approved by the Dáil. Various installations were handed over at different times during the year.
The Constitution of the Irish Free State was approved on 22 October 1922. On 5 December 1922 the Irish Free State Constitution Act was approved by the British Parliament. On 6 December 1922 the Constitution of the Irish Free State came into force. There is room for discussion as to which of those dates would be appropriate. I think we should consider doing something on 6 December, if that is acceptable. It is a good idea, we should do it and we will.
We will co-operate because we should not substitute Civil War history with Civil War politics. There is another way of dealing with the matter. All the eminent people mentioned made their contribution to Irish society. That should be commemorated.