Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not have anything written down or prepared but I wanted to speak. Mr. Martin Collins used the word "boss" and I think it is great that Senator Flynn is the boss today. I know she will keep me in time. When I was growing up, my mam and dad used to always tell me they raised me to be decent. They are decent people themselves. In my house we acknowledged and recognised that it was the last form of acceptable racism and it was not tolerated in my house. When I stand back and think about it, the extent of it shocks me. When we hear people talk about racism now, it is as though we have only just encountered it or it has only just come to our shores. It has not. Days like this are important when we acknowledge that institutional racism and when we remind ourselves, as parliamentarians, that we need to not just acknowledge it is there but to confront it. When I was growing up, I was told it is not enough to just be anti-racist myself but that you must go out, speak and stand up. You cannot be the person in the WhatsApp group who just mutes the conversation but does not call it out. You cannot be the person in the room when someone tells a racist joke. You have to be the person who raises your hand and while that is tough, it is in no way any tougher than the experiences that were outlined today. Days like this are important. When we get to the stage of not having to have days like this, that also will be very important. That will be an important place for us to go. Visibility and inclusion are important but also for us as settled people it is important we do not just say, "Well, I am not racist and that is all right"; we have to be actively anti-racist. It is lovely to see so many young people - I am looking at Latisha and James and others here - who will be the next generation to hand the baton to. I hope things will be slightly better and it is always lovely to see Senator Flynn but it is especially good to see her in the Chair and in charge of proceedings today. I thank her for indulgence.