Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for putting this on the agenda today. We all want to share in offering our condolences to the families of all 13 who were on the balcony. The parents of all the families of those children who were killed must be inconsolable today. One can only imagine the desolation on waking up the morning after the tragedy and realising the unimaginable has happened to one's daughter or son. That the victims died in such a random, senseless kind of way is absolutely tragic.

I was listening to our former consul yesterday. He said almost every Irish family is touched by this. It is absolutely true that so many parents can feel the grief of the bereaved parents because so many of us, including me, have had children who had the experience of going to San Francisco on a J1 visa. Parents must have felt apprehensive letting their children go but also so proud of them and excited they were getting an opportunity to spread their wings. It is absolutely tragic that those parents' children were on the cusp of realising a life full of possibilities and promise only to have it cut short.

There are no words that can console the parents. I also think today of the families of those who were injured, badly in some cases. They face a lifetime of grief and living with the aftermath of what happened. It is impossible to console them with words but I hope that, as time goes by, all the parents will get some comfort from knowing the prayers and thoughts of the entire nation are with them at this time. I thank the Department and Minister for making resources available - this will continue - to make the journey a little easier for the parents.