Yesterday I complimented all of the staff and the people involved in the centenary of the first sitting of the First Dáil on Monday. I am a firm believer Ireland should have more association with the Commonwealth of Nations. That would help when 70% of the people born on the island of Ireland reside in commonwealth countries. What difficulty do we have in that regard? I was heartened to find in the booklet I received on the day of the centenary that the Democratic Programme stated:

We declare in the words of the Irish Republican Proclamation the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies to be indefeasible, and in the language of our first President. Pádraig Mac Phiarais, we declare that the Nation’s sovereignty extends not only to all men and women of the Nation"

It goes on to state: "We affirm the duty of every man and woman to give allegiance and service to the Commonwealth". What happened since that time? In 1949, under the then Government, Ireland was declared to be a republic. That was great and welcome but in doing so Ireland was ineligible for membership of the Commonwealth. The rules were amended two weeks later to allow the Republic of Ireland to remain, in the same way as India and South Africa, but in our stubbornness we decided that it was not for us. The Government declared the Republic of Ireland Act which effectively recognised the state of Northern Ireland. As Éamon de Valera rightly said, by being a member of the Commonwealth, we had a foot in both camps. Now is the time to stand by the words of the First Dáil in 1919 and say we affirm the duty of every man and woman to give allegiance and service to the Commonwealth. It is not Senator Frank Feighan who is saying it but the people who set up the State in the first Parliament of this country. We should have an open and frank debate about the merits of Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth of Nations, not the British Commonwealth. It has been the Commonwealth of Nations since 1951. There are 31 republics among the 53 countries in it. This is a republic of which we should be proud.