Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I, too, express my deepest sympathy to the family of deceased Garda Adrian Donohoe, including his wife, Caroline, and his children, Niall and Amy. As previous speakers have said, we were all absolutely repulsed and disgusted when we learned late on Friday evening of the act that took place in Lordship. In the intervening days, we have all read and heard about the extreme dedication of the late Detective Garda Donohoe to his job and community in Lordship and the wider County Louth area. We are all suffering as a result of his loss.

The loss of Adrian reminds us of the death of the late Detective Garda Jerry McCabe and other members of the Garda who have been killed during the years. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families also, because this recent event reminds them of the awful events that were visited upon them.

Many tributes have been paid to Detective Garda Donohoe but the biggest tribute that can now be paid to him is to bring his killers to justice. I join all the other speakers who have called on those who have information relevant to the crime. Anybody with information has an onus to pass it on to An Garda Síochána in order that the killers may be brought to justice. No justice will be done until such time as the killers are put behind bars, with a minimum mandatory sentence of 40 years.

I express my sympathy to the wider Garda Síochána community and thank its members for their sterling work in our communities in facing up to those forces who seek to work against the State and its citizens. Every single day, gardaí seek to uphold law and order and stand up to the criminals who are working against us. The role of gardaí in our public service is completely different from that of many others, as has been said. When gardaí go out daily to do their jobs, they face risks that are different from those faced by anybody else when doing his or hers. It behoves all of us to support and stand behind An Garda Síochána in doing its duty. This is why we must unite, as we are doing today, to express our solidarity with and support for members of An Garda Síochána and their families. We must work with the force in every way we can to support it in doing its job for us. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

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