Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If I lived in Paris, London or any of the other European cities which have been the victim of terrorist attacks in recent years or if I were the parent or family member of a person killed on a bridge or mown down by a terrorist, I would be at my wits' end listening to some of the spurious arguments being wheeled out here this morning. I ask the Minister to confirm my understanding of what he outlined, namely, that this is a measure which European Union countries wish to enact to help fight terrorism. I appreciate that some people have historical baggage about fighting terrorism but this is a measure which will enable the European Union to preserve the type of structures we want to see, such as the ability for people to go out in the evening in their own city or country and securely move from one EU member state to another, and to ensure that the security services of the European Union act and co-ordinate together and with third countries where possible to ensure that we do not have situations similar to those which, unfortunately, have occurred so often in recent years. If that is the intent of this proposal, it behoves us all to think of those impacted by such events and work towards the speedy implementation of the proposal.