Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I have two points to raise. One humorous comment was from someone suggesting that I live in a kind of safe zone and am not really in the real world. I have been in politics for 40 years and have contested 13 elections and can say that I know all about the real world and people's problems. I do not minimise them at all. No one has a greater feeling of empathy and sympathy for the unfortunate people who are trying to come here from horrendous situations than me and my equals. Middle Ireland is very supportive of Ukrainians and immigrants of any description who are under pressure from whatever source and feel they need to be here with us.

Second, I go back to my original point. One speaker said that everybody on Saturday knew what they were for. I think they also knew what they were against, which was basically the Government. That was the message which was coming through loud and clear. I accept that as someone in public life but I would suggest that the voluntary organisations and NGOs need to have much less talk about how the political leadership is letting them down and should instead work with political leadership to achieve what we all want. Let us not make a political football out of yet another crisis in the world. If people want to have a go at the Government, there are plenty of other ways to do that. Let us be united on this particular campaign.