John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this important matter.

This week, while speaking to constituents in the Portobello area, I was informed about the spraying of racist graffiti on Jewish sites in the area. I took note of the complaint and I hoped to investigate the matter further but yesterday while walking through the same area I was astonished to see graffiti on a house in Bloomfield Avenue, which had been the subject of a previous incident. I was informed the attack had occurred the night previously at approximately 3.30 a.m.and that a number of Jewish landmarks in the Portobello area and beyond had been targeted. Among them was the Jewish Museum on Walworth Road. In most instances a swastika had been sprayed on the wall and sometimes if the culprit had time, an SS sign was added for good measure. We all know that graffiti is unsightly and costs a fair amount of money to remove, but this vandalism has much more sinister undertones. This is naked racism, anti-Semitism and even neo-Nazism raising its head. It simply cannot be tolerated in a civilised and democratic society.

The Garda and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in whose constituency this took place must take these incidents seriously. I understand this is the third such incident in a short period. It was well planned and calmly executed, probably to coincide with VE day and the liberation of the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. Only recently we heard the moving testimonies of members of the Irish Jewish community who had suffered in the concentration and death camps. Their message for a future generation was clear, we cannot afford to forget the Holocaust or its victims because unless we are vigilant, history could at some time repeat itself. Clearly there is still a small number of deviant individuals who support the racial policies of the Third Reich and it is they, I believe, who were responsible for this anti-Semitic graffiti.

There has been some suggestion that Muslim extremists could have been responsible. However, I do not believe this to be the case. I have spoken to members of the Muslim community and they not only condemn such action but see it as entirely counter-productive to their own cause in Palestine.

My constituents wish to see an end to these incidents. The Portobello area is a beautiful part of Dublin consisting of terraced houses, which used to be a Jewish neighbourhood many years ago. It retains many Jewish landmarks and this gives the area its distinctive appeal. Some people have informed me that neo-Nazi stickers have appeared in the Camden Street area and white supremacist leaflets were also distributed. The rise of racist groups, even if they are a small minority of people, should be a matter of concern for all of us. The Ireland we all grew up in has changed enormously. Ireland and particularly the area around Portobello and the South Circular Road has become multicultural. These immigrants have contributed enormously to our economy and they add to the variety and vibrancy of the locality. The majority of Irish people have welcomed them. It is up to the political leaders to ensure that political racism does not raise its ugly head and gain a foothold in any community. It should be nipped in the bud, as quickly as possible. I am calling on the Minister today to ensure that priority is given to these incidents and that they are not simply ignored as minor incidents and that the perpetrators are brought to justice very quickly.

There is adequate legislation to pursue them and if there is not, I ask the Minister to inform the House of any loopholes in the legislation. These people are guilty of incitement to hatred as well as defacing property. History tells us that the Nazis moved from Kristallnacht to Aryan purity laws to the Holocaust in a short space of time. There can be no complacency about this matter. To ignore these incidents is to ignore the Jewish victims of Nazi terror.

See this speech in context