Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate the remarks of the Fianna Fáil Party to the French people, through the ambassador, during an earlier debate in the Dáil. I welcome him to this meeting and thank him for taking the time to not only attend the plenary session of Parliament but to meet with this committee at this difficult time. It is important in the context of the support of the European Union of its member states that we develop our dialogue even at a time of such great difficulty for the ambassador's country. I take this opportunity to again express my sympathy to not only the people of Paris but the entire French nation.

It is well recognised that the attack on Paris while specific to that city and the people there was not just an attack on the people of the city of Paris but an attack on France, Europe and the values and freedoms espoused in the French republic. We must all be at one in our condemnation of what happened. We now need to focus on how to address not only the fall-out of this attack but how we look to the future. To this end, there is a requirement on all of us to try to find a way or a path to eliminate the potential for the radicalisation of a certain cohort of citizens of our Union who feel alienated and isolated and thus the urge to participate in terrorist activity with such deadly consequences. This should not fall to be addressed by the authorities of any one state. It is an issue of which we must all be mindful. There are threats that exist, the origins of which reside outside of our borders, but we have a responsibility in so far as we can to address the threat that exists within our own borders. Taking a negative approach to migration or speaking out against the notion of accepting refugees, as some in the United States have done, is not the answer because the threat lies within. Perhaps at a later stage we can begin dialogue with the ambassador on what can be done to address the real threat that exists within our own pool of European citizens.