I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the commemoration of the Great Famine; to provide for the establishment of a National Famine Commemoration Day; and to provide for related matters.
This is a small, compact Bill. We should have a national day marked in the calendar to commemorate the greatest tragedy that has ever befallen the country. The Bill proposes to designate this day the second Sunday in May. I will refer to some of the arguments I have made previously on this issue, on which I have spoken in the Chamber previously. I had my first opportunity to speak on it shortly after I was elected and, subsequently, on 5 July 2015. Some of the topics I raised then are critical reasons for making this proposal.
The Famine has shaped modern Ireland more than any other event and this needs to be recognised in the same way we mark other days of national commemoration. We commemorate the Easter Rising every year and we have other significant dates fixed in the calendar to mark those from this country who lost their lives in war. That we do not have a fixed date in the calendar marking the Famine is a major mistake. We should place the Famine on the same level as the other commemorations to which I referred.
I advocate this change for a number of key reasons, which I will repeat today. We should embed in the national consciousness the importance and significance of the Famine. Having a fixed date would enable us to work with children, schools and the next generation because they would be able to clearly see the Famine marked every year. This would enable the State to provide a much more rounded commemoration and to mark the Famine in a way that fully integrates the generations, particularly the next generation because schoolchildren would play a part.
The Famine is probably the greatest event that internationalised Ireland in terms of what followed it and the emigration that flowed from it. In setting a fixed date for the Famine commemoration day in the calendar we would be giving an opportunity to the diaspora throughout the world, and to all the people who claim descent, to note this date as the date on which they will have an opportunity to join with people in this country in marking what is the greatest national tragedy ever to befall the island of Ireland.
The Bill is at its heart a straightforward and simple Bill. I do not believe it is divisive and I hope it will receive widespread support. I would like at this point to pay tribute to those people who have worked on the national Famine commemoration days held thus far. The small but significant change proposed in this Bill, in terms of setting a fixed date in our calendar as the forever Famine commemoration day, is what we need to do at this stage.
