Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Margaretta D'Arcy and the late John Arden were long time anti-war campaigners. Their opposition was to the entire concept of war and its terrible consequences for people and not for any nation. For the considerable time I have known her, Margaretta D'Arcy has been involved in anti-war campaigns and, in particular in recent years, the campaign at Shannon Airport. I understand she has been committed to prison for three months for refusing to give an undertaking on what she sees as a matter of principle. However, she is aged 79, frail and she suffers from Parkinson's disease.

Knowing the woman, the sincerity of her beliefs and her frailty, her continuing imprisonment offends human rights and I ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to release her on humanitarian grounds. Her continued detention sends out the wrong signal. She is in prison for, if anything, caring too much for other people and not wanting people to get hurt. As a society, we want to be known for our justice system, which should balance justice with compassion. Many ordinary people would fail to understand why she is in jail while many others who wilfully and knowingly hurt people walk free.

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