Dáil debates

Tuesday, 17 November 2015

Paris Terrorist Attack: Statements

 

6:00 pm

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I extend my sympathies to the citizens of Paris, the bereaved families, the French people, the French ambassador, who was in the Chamber earlier today, and to the French President, François Hollande, and his Government on an atrocity that shook all of us to our core. This terrible atrocity raised the most fundamental questions about man’s inhumanity to man and how, if at all, politics can play a role in resolving what appear to be intractable issues involved.

Like the events of 9 September 2001, most of us will remember exactly where we were when this happened. Courtesy of the digital media age, we watched it unfold before our eyes over several hours last weekend. When the toxic ideology of ISIS reaches out into the rural heartland of my constituency and injures a young man, David Nolan, who hails from outside Millstreet and who was in Paris at the Bataclan theatre with his girlfriend, we have to realise we live in a global village. For those who preach an approach of retreat and retrenchment in Irish foreign policy, I believe that is a bankrupt ideology. We have to play our part in shaping and influencing the global response. It is a global village. We might like to think we are far removed from a threat from ISIS but we can never be certain about that. We can be certain, however, that if ISIS felt it would advance its case one iota by having an attack on our shores, then we would be centre stage. We are all vulnerable.

Can the global village speak as one voice? What has struck me forcibly over the past several days is the entire absence of the United Nations as a voice in condemnation or advocating a roadmap resolution to what appears to be an intractable problem globally. Syria is the root source of this evil.

It has manifested itself elsewhere. People made reference to previous atrocities in Lebanon. We had what happened to the Metrojet Airbus over Sinai. During the summer we had the bombings and shootings in Tunisia. No citizen is safe. No location is entirely safe. We have to collectively engage. Some colleagues have spoken about Irish neutrality but that is not sufficient. We cannot abdicate or absolve ourselves of responsibility to what is a global threat by running away or burying our heads in the sand.

It is clear that the United Nations is a powerless talking shop. It has failed not just in this global theatre of arms and insurrection but in many other areas as well. A question arises. How do we mould an international coalition and set an agreeable road map to resolve this? How do we engage with all the parties? We talk about the arms response. I do not want to dwell on that issue today but it strikes me that the most powerful recruiting tool being used by these people today is social media. The courtship of the vulnerable on social media is where most of the recruitment in western Europe is happening. They are being reached out to by this toxic ideology on social media. We have failed to use our collective intelligence. I am not talking about military or Garda intelligence. We have failed to use our innate intelligence to tackle that recruiting arm of this toxic daesh ideology, which is something that should not be beyond us.

I often regret very much that even in this House we regularly appear to undermine our loyalty to our State in the pursuit of political advantage. We need to build a loyalty to the State and our flag which is greater than any political party. This is a transnational and international issue and social media know no borders. They do not recognise them. We need to realise their potency and be able to tackle that recruiting arm of ISIS by preaching a message of loyalty to the State, tolerance, respect for difference and mutual and peaceful co-existence. If we start to use our innate intelligence, we will be able to make some progress at one level. Where appropriate, we need political and military solutions as well.

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