Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Everyone in this House agrees the images that were broadcast here and further afield were truly shocking. It was disgraceful that such a blatant display of paramilitarism would take place right here in Dublin in broad daylight. These were scenes we thankfully have not witnessed for many years, but we must be frank about this: they were nothing more than blatant criminality that has nothing to do with republicanism. People are hijacking funerals and public events for shows of force related to gangland criminal activity in Dublin. We must work together and that is what I wish to do in raising this issue. We must stamp this out and give every assistance to the Garda Síochána. I call publicly on anyone who has any assistance to offer the Garda to give it to it.

People are before the courts but we must keep uppermost in our minds the extensive reputational damage these displays may have had for the country abroad because doubtless these images were broadcast elsewhere. The Minister made a statement the day after the funeral, but does the Government have a strategy to ensure this does not happen again? Has the Minister or the Department assessed the resources, legislative or otherwise, that are available to ensure this does not take place again? Should there be controls in place for such events if a garda of a senior rank is of the opinion such scenes might reoccur? Should there be a licensing system to control such funerals? It might sound extreme but this issue is serious in terms of reputational damage and from a public order point of view.

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