Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ar mo shon féin agus ar son Fhianna Fáil, ba mhaith liom comhbhrón a dhéanamh le clanna na ndaoine a fuair bás san ionsaí sceimhle uafásach a tharla i Manchester aréir. Bhí sé dochreidte. Tá sé an-deacair ar fad dúinn go léir é seo a chreidiúint.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives and those who were injured in last night's attack in Manchester. It was a barbaric attack on innocents, on children out enjoying themselves at a wonderful concert. Young people, children and their parents were targeted in an act of inhumanity, cowardice and hatred. We pay tribute to the emergency services workers who, as always in situations like this, rushed to assist and rescue those in trouble. The Manchester police chief, Ian Hopkins, said it was the most horrific attack ever faced by Manchester police as he confirmed that children were among the deceased.

We speak today in solidarity with the people of Manchester and Great Britain. Our family ties are close and historic. We join them today in empathy, and also with resilience, to honour the common values and decency that will continue to sustain our open and democratic societies. We should never forget that those who perpetrate these acts of terror do so to change us. Their acts are designed to make us more like the perpetrators, to make us turn on ourselves and to undermine our own sense of basic, open and democratic values. As civilised societies, it is important that we never become victims to that design and intent. We must remain resilient to protect all that we hold dear in our societies. Those who have been responsible for this act cannot and must not succeed. We have to work together with other nations across Europe and with our neighbour Great Britain to make sure we can rid our society of this evil.

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