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Dáil Éireann DÁIL ÉIREANN AN COMHCHOISTE UM CHOMHSHAOL, CULTÚR AGUS GAELTACHT JOINT COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT, CULTURE AND THE GAELTACHT Dé Máirt, 10 Nollaig 2013 Tuesday, 10 December 2013 The Joint Committee met at 2.10 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Deputy Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Senator Fiach Mac Conghail, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú. Deputy Tony McLoughlin, Deputy Michelle Mulherin, Deputy Catherine Murphy, Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, Deputy Brian Stanley, In attendance: Deputies Sandra McLellan and Joanna Tuffy, and Senator Jillian van Turn- hout. DEPUTY MARCELLA CORCORAN KENNEDY IN THE CHAIR. 1 CAPTURINg FULL VALUE OF gENEALOgICAL HeritagE: DISCUSSION The joint committee met in private session until 2.41 p.m. Capturing Full Value of Genealogical Heritage: Discussion Acting Chairman (Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy): We will consider how to de- velop a plan to capture the full value of our genealogical heritage with our first group of wit- nesses. Is that agreed? Agreed. I welcome the following witnesses to the meeting: from the genealogical Society of Ire- land - Mr. Michael Merrigan, general secretary, Mr Tom Conlon, director of Internet services, and Mr. Aiden Feerick, society member; from the Council of Irish genealogical Organisations and the Association of Professional genealogists in Ireland - Mr. Colm Cochrane, Mr. Steven Smyrl, Mr. Paddy Waldron, Ms Rose Sibbett and Mr. Rob Davison; on behalf of the Irish Fam- ily History Foundation, Ms Karel Kiely, secretary, Ms Nora O’Meara, financial controller, Mr. Fintan Mullen, board member, and an tUasal Seán Ó Súilleabháin, board member; Ms Kiely is also manager of rootsireland.ie and a County Kildare genealogist; Ms O’Meara is also a north Tipperary genealogist; Mr. Mullen is chief executive officer of the Ulster Historical Founda- tion and an tUasal Ó Súilleabháin is also the former County Leitrim librarian; also present is Mr. John grenham, author and genealogist. I thank the witnesses for their attendance today. I propose to hear from the witnesses in the order that I have introduced them. Is that agreed? Agreed. The session will continue until 3.45 p.m. when we suspend. We will then resume at 4.15 p.m. with our second session. Is that agreed? Agreed. By virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by ab- solute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. However, if they are directed by it to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against a person or an entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable. I advise that any opening statement submitted to the committee may be published on its website after the meeting. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an of- ficial either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. Before calling on the first witness I wish to make some comments. g enealogy has, in recent years, become a fascination for Irish people, as indeed for people worldwide. People want to know more about their forebears and their origins; where they come from and what was hap- pening back then. While many people engage in genealogical research as a personal hobby there is a very important role for the professional genealogist in conducting research for others and in providing information in both hard copy form and also on the world wide web. The world wide web in particular has an important role to play in the study of genealogy, providing information, research facilities and databases to people across the globe. Mr. or Ms Murphy in Tasmania can research their great-great grandparent in Cork without leaving their home in Hobart. genealogy has many different aspects to it catering for individuals and people with a common ancestry as, for example, the MacCarthy clan or people originating in a particular part 2 JOINT COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT, Culture AND THE Gaeltacht of Ireland; for example a town, a townland or an offshore island community. There are also family history societies that facilitate members by sharing knowledge, indexing records, pub- lishing journals and sponsoring conference and site visits. given Ireland’s worldwide diaspora these developments can make an important contribution to enhancing our tourism sector and as an industry with major potential growth can contribute to creating employment in Ireland both in genealogical research and in encouraging people like the Murphys in Hobart to visit Ireland. I now call on Mr. Merrigan to address the committee. Mr. Michael Merrigan: As general secretary of the genealogical Society of Ireland, I would like, on behalf of my board and on behalf of our members at home and overseas, to thank the Chairperson and the members of the Oireachtas joint committee for inviting the society to make a submission and to address this meeting. I would like to introduce my colleagues - to my left Tom Conlon, director of Internet services and Aiden Feerick, a member of the society. For the information of the committee, while the society itself does not engage in commer- cial genealogical research assignments for individuals, Aiden Feerick is also a member of the Association of Professional genealogists in Ireland, APgI, and a director of Ancestor Network Limited. It may be useful, in the interests of openness and transparency, that any person appear- ing before the committee for and on behalf of a voluntary genealogical organisation, declares if they are personally also members of APgI or engage in commercial genealogical research. The Irish genealogical community is relatively small and cross-membership among organisations is not uncommon. On page 4 of the society’s submission, we have included information on the society and its unique approach to these matters as it operates quite differently to other voluntary genealogi- cal organisations in Ireland. The society has a long record stretching back over 23 years of campaigning on genealogical and heritage matters at local, national and international levels. Further clarification on our position is on page 5 of the submission. The society was established in 1990 to promote an awareness, appreciation and knowledge of our genealogical and heraldic heritage in Ireland and among her diaspora. The society is an independent not-for-profit volun- tary heritage organisation with an Irish and international membership and it is an incorporated body in Ireland with charitable status. It is also a nominating body for Seanad Éireann. The society is devoted to the promotion of the study of genealogy and related subjects as educational leisure pursuits available to all in the community irrespective of age, prior learn- ing, background, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation or socioeconomic circumstances and we do so by organising two open meetings each month throughout the year, holding lectures, workshops, publishing genealogical material, group projects, exhibiting at major events and the provision of an archive and research centre, An Daonchartlann, at the Carlisle Pier in Dún Laoghaire. The principle of public ownership and right of access to our genealogical heritage is the cornerstone of the society’s policies on heritage, genealogy and archival matters. The society is precluded from affiliating with any organisation or group failing to endorse this fundamental principle. Over the past 23 years, the society has encouraged the tabling of parliamentary ques- tions in Dáil Éireann; raising matters on the Order of Business in Seanad Éireann; advocating amendments to Bills in both Houses; it has drafted Bills for presentation to Teachtaí Dála and Seanadóirí; made numerous submissions to State agencies, Departments and local government; and formulated and published detailed proposals on many heritage issues. The society has always been to the fore in the development and promotion of genealogical 3 CAPTURINg FULL VALUE OF gENEALOgICAL HeritagE: DISCUSSION and heraldic services in Ireland. Legislative reform has been a core objective of this endeavour and therefore, amendments were sought and secured in many pieces of legislation as outlined in the written submission. In addressing the issue, developing a plan to capture the full value of our genealogical heritage, it is easy to see the matter from a purely economic perspective relating specifically to tourism or as a straightforward archival access problem to be resolved by more State investment, increased staffing levels, improved technology and, of course, the hope of philanthropy. Capturing the full value of our genealogical heritage is as much an intriguing objective as it is a complex, multifaceted and, in some respects, a very contentious and ambi- tious endeavour involving many different stakeholders across a number of sectors including the State, commercial interests, voluntary organisations, institutional and private custodians of records and others. As members can see from the submission, the genealogical Society of Ireland has taken a holistic approach to this important national issue by assessing our genealogical heritage in its many and varied aspects including whether it is a product or a resource. This is an essential question as it impacts greatly on the manner in which other aspects of our genealogical heritage can be assessed in the context of the development of a plan as proposed. As members can see on page 2 of the submission, the society has considered each of the various areas it believes have a significant contribution to make to the promotion of an awareness, appreciation and knowledge of our genealogical heritage or to the further development of genealogy in educa- tion, scientific research, roots tourism and other important sectors.
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