Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

On Tuesday night, a crowd gathered outside Celbridge Manor. That is where more than 100 people seeking asylum, children, women and men, live. The crowd chanted, "Paedophiles out. Deport them now. Get them out." There were threats made to burn down the building, where people live. Why? Because of a disgusting lie spread on social media by far-right agitators. The lie was that a seven-year-old girl had been raped in the hotel by three non-Irish men. It was first shared by a supporter of the Irish Freedom Party online and then amplified by far-right agitators Fergus Power and Derek Blighe and people were called to protest. It was a lie. These people do not care about the truth. They are happy to spread lies with the aim of deceiving people and whipping people up. Two weeks ago, Dr. Umar Al-Qadri, the chair of the Irish Muslim Council, was lured into a housing estate and beaten up in a racist assault. This is what a rise in the far right is going to look like - more arson attacks, more racist violence, more danger in our communities.

The vast majority of people reject this. People know that responsibility for the housing crisis, the health crisis and the deep inequality in our society lies with the Government, not with vulnerable people. That majority is represented by those who came out of their homes in Tallaght to help Dr. Al-Qadri when he was attacked and those who warned residents of Celbridge Manor arriving home from work about what was going on and helped them get back safely. That majority will be on display this Saturday when more than 130 organisations have come together to organise a solidarity march. At 1.30 p.m. at Parnell Square, thousands of people will stand together against racism, hate and war, for homes, health and rights for all, and to demand that the wealth is shared and inequality is ended. We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world but more than four in ten parents have skipped meals so their children can have enough to eat. This is a country full of vacant and derelict properties - almost 60,000 properties are long-term vacant - but where more than 4,000 children are in emergency accommodation. These are properties that should be compulsorily purchased by councils, as has finally now happened in Clondalkin.

The far-right agitators are working very consciously to direct people's anger not at those at the top of our society but against those at the bottom. I have confidence in people coming out on Saturday and making their views known, but I have a lot less confidence in the Government. What is the State going to do to protect people? Why did it take so long, more than a day, for the Garda to issue a statement debunking the dangerous lies being spread by the far right? When the far right is spreading lies about imaginary crimes, why is there not an immediate response to tell the truth to people?

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