Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom mo chomhbhrón a dhéanamh le clanna na ndaoine a maraíodh i bPáras an tseachtain seo caite. Chuir sé déistin orm nuair a chonaic mé na himeachtaí ar an teilifís. Caithfimid uilig seasamh go láidir in aghaidh na n-ionsaithe seo.

On behalf of Sinn Féin, I want to extend my sincerest sympathies to all the victims of last week's dreadful attacks in Paris and their families. I want to extend to the ambassador and the people of Paris and France our solidarity at this very difficult time. Cuirim fáilte mór roimh. France and Ireland enjoy a good relationship, not least in our revolutionary histories and the values we share. Irish people, like people throughout the world, watched in shock and revulsion as the brutal events in Paris unfolded. Families were robbed of loved ones - sons, daughters, spouses, colleagues, workmates, parents and siblings. This weekend saw millions of ordinary people in Paris and France as well as countless others around the world, including in Ireland, make a courageous stand against fundamentalism. They were also making a stand against those from either the extreme right or left, be they fundamentalists, bigots, racists or homophobes, who seek to impose by violence and intimidation their values on others.

But part of the tragedy of the modern world and of what happened in Paris is that many other barbaric acts are ignored by the international community, particularly the Western powers. Ionsaithe úafásacha a bhí ann a chuaigh in aghaidh na saoirse. Tá saoirse tábhachtach d'achan duine ach tá go leor daoine, iriseoirí san áireamh, ar fud na cruinne nach bhfuil saoirse acu. Caithfidmid aird a thabhairt ar na rialtais seo a diúltaíonn saoirse cainte do dhaoine.

Sadly, the mass slaughter of perhaps 2,000 men, women and children in northern Nigeria by Boko Haram attracted little mainstream media attention. The car bomb attacks last week in Sana'a in Yemen, which killed 35 people, and in Aleppo in Syria, which killed 14 people, did not attract the same level of media coverage and international condemnation. While we think of the victims in Paris, Nigeria and Syria, let us also remember the 2,000 people, mainly civilians, including 500 children, and the 13 journalists who died during the Israeli assault on Gaza last summer. The deaths of journalists, cartoonists and satirists in Paris have provoked justifiable outrage, which we share. But so, too, must the deaths of 61 journalists who were killed on duty in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria.

Something that was said a lot about the spirit of the people of France was that there was a degree of understandable scepticism about some of the condemnations of the Paris attacks by governments whose own records of defending freedom of the press, killing and imprisoning journalists or using political censorship left much to be desired. Many French opinion makers quite rightly drew attention to those leaders who could demonstrate their commitment to freedom of speech by opening the prison gates for the journalists they were holding.

Whatever the colour of our skin, our religion, our race or our gender, there can be no excuse for the actions that occurred in Paris or elsewhere in recent weeks. Wherever injustice, oppression, racism or attacks take place on religious minorities or where anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or sectarianism exists, they must be confronted and challenged. So, too, must poverty, injustice, inequality, discrimination and racism. The Taoiseach represented the people of this island. It is our responsibility to join with those citizens who courageously took to the streets in defiance of murder and threats and to make a stand. That means going beyond rhetoric. We have a duty to understand what happened and the differences that divide us. I note and commend the French President's warning that last week's horrific attacks should not be an excuse for attacks on Islam or the rights of Muslims.

We need to be alert to the dangers of fundamentalism of all kinds. This means actively working for and investing in processes of education, information and dialogue that can overcome prejudice and, in the spirit of tolerance, mutual respect and equality, get us to understand our differences.

Our sympathy and solidarity is with the families of those who died and the people of France. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anam dílis.

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