THE DEMOCRATIC PROGRAMME OF
THE FIRST DÁIL
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. Pádraíg Mac Phiarais, we declare that the Nation's
sovereignty
extends not only to all men and women of the Nation, but to all its
material
possessions, the Nation's soil and all its resources, all the wealth
and all
the wealth-producing processes within the Nation, and with him we
reaffirm that
all right to private property must be subordinated to the public right
and
welfare.
We
declare that we desire our country to be ruled in accordance with the
principles of Liberty, Equality, and Justice for all, which alone can
secure
permanence of Government in the willing adhesion of the people.
We
affirm the duty of every man and woman to give allegiance and service
to
the Commonwealth, and declare it is the duty of the Nation to assure
that every
citizen shall have opportunity to spend his or her strength and
faculties in
the service of the people. In return for willing service, we, in the
name of
the Republic, declare the right of every citizen to an adequate share
of the
produce of the Nation's labour.
It
shall be the first duty of the Government of the Republic to make
provision for the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the
children, to
secure that no child shall suffer hunger or cold from lack of food,
clothing,
or shelter, but that all shall be provided with the means and
facilities
requisite for their proper education and training as Citizens of a Free
and
Gaelic Ireland.
The
Irish Republic fully realises the necessity of abolishing the present
odious, degrading and foreign Poor Law System, substituting therefor a
sympathetic native scheme for the care of the Nation's aged and infirm,
who
shall not be regarded as a burden, but rather entitled to the Nation's
gratitude and consideration. Likewise it shall be the duty of the
Republic to
take such measures as will safeguard the health of the people and
ensure the
physical as well as the moral well-being of the Nation.
It
shall be our duty to promote the development of the Nation's resources,
to increase the productivity of its soil, to exploit its mineral
deposits, peat
bogs, and fisheries, its waterways and harbours, in the interests and
for the
benefit of the Irish people.
It
shall be the duty of the Republic to adopt all measures necessary for
the recreation and invigoration of our Industries, and to ensure their
being
developed on the most beneficial and progressive co-operative and
industrial
lines. With the adoption of an extensive Irish Consular Service, trade
with
foreign Nations shall be revived on terms of mutual advantage and
goodwill, and
while undertaking the organisation of the Nation's trade, import and
export, it
shall be the duty of the Republic to prevent the shipment from Ireland
of food
and other necessaries until the wants of the Irish people are fully
satisfied and
the future provided for.
It
shall also devolve upon the National Government to seek co-operation of
the Governments of other countries in determining a standard of Social
and
Industrial Legislation with a view to a general and lasting improvement
in the
conditions under which the working classes live and labour.
.
