Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is the first time I have had an opportunity to speak on the Order of Business since the shocking passing of Councillor Damien O'Reilly, my colleague and personal assistant. The Cathaoirleach and Leader said a few words at the time to mark his passing, which was a very nice thing to do. Damien's family very much appreciated it. My thoughts have been with his young daughter Carly, his stepson Kyle, his partner Lisa and his mother Phil. I have been in contact intensely with them over the past few weeks. As we come up to Damien's month's mind, it is the appropriate time for me to mention him in the House. I wish the light of heaven on him. We are still working with his family and there is a GoFundMe page that is seeking to gather a few bob for Carly's further education. Anybody who is not aware of that will find a link to it quite easily on the Dunboyne Facebook page or my Facebook page. It is linked on several popular forums and I can pass the details on to anybody who needs them.

I am anything but an advocate of war and needless killing. This long-running feud has to be ironed out. We must get people around the table to look at the bigger picture and iron out the problems. It previously looked like a two-state solution would be the answer but that seems to have fallen into the backwaters for whatever reason. I certainly am not here to sway people from their positions, which seem to be quite entrenched. I have questions. I cannot see why quite a lot of people have a leaning to the Islamic State and fundamentalist jihadism.