Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of Independents 4 Change, I extend our sympathies to the families and friends of all who lost loved ones and those who were injured. It is an unthinkable act on the part of a madman. It hardly bears thinking about. One would be better off not seeing what happened.

I find it sad that just before this madman struck there was an aerial display of French fighter planes. All of the fighter planes in France could not stop him. I do not think all of the nuclear power in France could stop him. One cannot deal with the possibility that a madman driving a large lorry can be stopped from creating havoc if he so chooses.

I was not glad to hear President Hollande say he would strengthen France's role in the Islamic civil wars in Iraq and Syria. I visited France during the European football championships and spoke to many French people about the terrible things that have happened in their country in recent times. I did not meet anybody who thought it would be a good idea to continue to bomb people in Syria and Iraq.

It is all madness. The whole region has been destabilised and I do not think more war will help anything. Could Ireland play a different role, return to a time when we were seen as a neutral country and start to advocate for peace and an end to the mindless destruction of countries and people?

I do not accept that people who behave in a mad way hate our lifestyle, culture and freedom. Rather, they hate the fact that we have wreaked such destruction on certain parts of the planet. There is no excuse for any of the atrocities that have happened across Europe. They are horrendous. I ask that we try to play a positive role by reaching out to all of the countries in Europe and appealing for a more peaceful approach and an end to the militarisation of the planet. It would do the people of every country in Europe and every other country a favour.

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