Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis na TeachtaíÓ Snodaigh, Harkin agus Cowley.

It was with profound sadness that I heard on Saturday about the appalling hatred shown and the vitriolic attacks on marchers from Northern Ireland who came to demonstrate in peace in Dublin. It is ironic that the demonstration took place less than one month before a festive march where Irish people will celebrate their identity will take place in London as part of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations. That will be, as in the past, a joyous and tolerant occasion. One does not expect in a civilised city to witness the level of violence and intolerance against marchers that we saw on Saturday. Certainly, we do not expect to witness the appalling and shameful levels of violence shown against the Garda Síochána.

It is clear there was a level of ill-preparedness for this violence. The lack of participation in this debate by Government Deputies is also worrying. I am concerned that this demonstrates a level of disinterest or a lack of confidence in the Minister. The Minister needs to reflect seriously on the issue to learn lessons for the future from this debacle.

The march was not provocative to most of our people and was welcomed by the Dublin City Business Association. The Garda, because it did not have intelligence on the issue, was lured into a false sense of security. I acknowledge it bent over backwards to protect the marchers when things turned ugly. There were some appalling injuries, but the situation could have been much worse. I offer my sympathy and that of the Green Party to members of the force who were injured or endangered and my admiration for their bravery in the course of duty in holding the line.

As a Protestant in the South, I say to Northern Protestants who hear how these visitors to Dublin were greeted that sectarianism is not a feature of this State. It is important we send that message. However, there is a difference between an absence of sectarianism and a proactive inclusiveness and this State has more to do in this regard. We have a ceasefire and a peace process, but we have not moved on sufficiently nor quickly enough. Saturday was a clear demonstration of how far we still have to go.

Educate Together schools, ecumenical acts of worship at particular historic junctures and gestures such that in my parish where the use of the Church of Ireland church is given to the Roman Catholic community while repairs are taking place on its church or that in Inisbiggle in Mayo, where there is a similar situation are important gestures that build confidence and cross-community understanding. The Government has not moved sufficiently far towards developing a civic forum following on the Good Friday Agreement. This is something we need and Saturday's events demonstrate how urgent the need is.

I urge the Minister to take account of the fact that gardaí feel under-resourced. As a result, there is low morale among many of the gardaí I know and this is reflected in the smaller numbers of gardaí in my area than in 1998. I hope the Minister takes this on board and does not sweep it under the carpet.

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