Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman.

I also oppose this motion, as I did last year. The Omagh bombing was an outrageous tragedy and atrocity.

It was tragic proof of the utter bankruptcy and callousness of a certain strand of unrepresentative republicanism in this country. I have no hesitation in saying that those who are nostalgic for a return to paramilitary struggle as a way to deal with problems in the North are wrong, and I call on them to adopt different tactics and perspectives in trying to address political and social problems in the North. Their tactics and actions should be unreservedly condemned. I believe in a very radical change in society and it is justified to engage in protest and sometimes even peaceful civil disobedience to try to bring about change in society. The tactics employed by these groups, as witnessed in Omagh, are utterly indefensible.

Nevertheless, I have problems with this legislation and from where the Government is coming. I must point to the double standards of the Government in condemnations of violence and the use of force for political ends; I cannot understand how on the one hand it can rightly condemn atrocities like that which occurred in Omagh while on the other hand we can see no such indignation or outrage when it comes to the use of drones to kill innocent people in Afghanistan. Those people are every bit as innocent as the people in Omagh but where is the indignation and condemnation in that respect? Far from that, we get the feting in this country of the commander-in-chief of the military forces, President Obama, without mention of what his forces are doing in Afghanistan, what they did in Iraq or the consistent abuse of human rights in Guantanamo Bay.

What occurred with the G8 protests is also evidence that the Government cannot be trusted with draconian powers, as 80 peaceful protestors who travelled in a bus - I was on the bus - were followed by a Garda armed response unit for 30 km or 40 km until the bus reached the Border. At that stage the protestors were faced with a phalanx of police, and I believe the full security bill for the G8 was £50 million. That was to deal with 3,000 peaceful protestors, so it cannot be justified. This was part of quite a cynical attempt to deter people from engaging in peaceful protest.

Draconian legislation does not deal with political or social problems, and one must address the root cause. History has indicated that draconian legislation can be counterproductive and fuel support for organisations rather than deter them in their actions.

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