(Carlow-Kilkenny): It is nice to see Ministers with responsibility for issues coming to the House to deal with important questions.
The centenary of any organisation is an important event. As humans, we all aspire to being centenarians but it is not easy. For an organisation to survive for 100 years, there must be great dedication on the part of the many people who have been in charge. When the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association was founded 100 years ago, there was a serious cause for worry about alcohol abuse. Even in the present day, there is still concern about alcohol abuse. I compliment the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association on the wonderful contribution it has made to Irish life. It is not enough to say we appreciate its work, we should show it.
An Post has the opportunity to show that appreciation by issuing a centenary stamp. This request has been made and it would be a wonderful gesture for the association to be honoured in that way. If Croke Park is prepared to give it facilities and the Garda are prepared to man the bearna baoil, the least An Post can do is commemorate it with a stamp, which it was asked to do. I ask the Minister to use her good offices to ensure that when the association celebrates its centenary, the State, through the work of An Post, will honour it by issuing a stamp.
I do not need to expand on this further. I am worried about the number of sheets the Minister is holding; I am afraid she is going to hit me with a long litany of excuses. I ask the Minister, regardless of what she has been told, to ensure that those who make these decisions in An Post – who have been given a couple of years to prepare – use their common sense to honour so many eminent pioneers who are still alive and who enjoy themselves as much as those who think that drinking to excess is a part of life. I ask the Minister to use her influence to ensure the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association is shown the respect it deserves.
