Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join you, Chairman, and Deputy Quinn in extending our sincere sympathies to the families of Lorna Carty and Larry and Martina Hayes. What was witnessed on the beach in Tunisia last Friday was an absolute massacre, an appalling murder by fundamentalists who targeted people at will. A total of 39 innocent people were murdered in a mindless way. It is very important that Europe and the civilised world act collectively and urgently to deal with the malignancy that is being inflicted on people. The atrocities carried out by ISIS and other extreme groups and their infiltration of communities is a dangerous position with which the world needs to deal. It is an issue that requires urgent attention. Today, our sympathies are with the families who have suffered so much – the three innocent Irish people murdered while they relaxed on an annual holiday, and the many people who lost their lives from our neighbouring island, some of them with Irish connections and to a GAA club in Birmingham. It shows the relationship between our two islands as well.

I also take the opportunity to compliment the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Ambassador Dave Cooney and his staff on the efforts they have made to try to work with the families in dealing with an extremely difficult situation, and trying to repatriate the bodies back home as soon as possible. Ar dheis Dé go raibh said.