Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a final point. The scenes witnessed at the weekend were shocking, not least for some of my party colleagues whose election posters were placed on bonfires, or in the case of Michelle Gildernew, her effigy was burnt – not a pleasant or defensible action. There is a challenge for Unionism to examine that squarely. There is no doubt there is a challenge for all of us to deal with sectarianism. Let us record also that hundreds of loyal order institution parades went ahead with no trouble whatsoever. We have made progress and we can make more but we will only get there if we are fully engaged and if the Minister does not live in hope but lives in action.

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