Jim Glennon (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

It is piracy on the part of a company with a recent semi-State history which has availed of an opportunity and decided to exploit it to the full. It is a weakness in international law which is difficult to circumvent. The laws applying in such circumstances are not the laws of this country.

The partnership forum is the appropriate forum for the development of goodwill between both sides. With the best will in the world, no Government nor any aspirational Government could possibly deal with the situation in a manner other than has been adopted by this Government. I cannot call the action taken by Irish Ferries illegal because it is not illegal in the strict sense but it is wrong, immoral and utterly unacceptable——

See this speech in context