Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I am not asking the Minister to take a position on the referendum or the Irish Government to call for a "Yes" or "No" vote. I am calling on it to recognise that the people have the right to decide and that the referendum should go ahead without horrific repression by the Spanish state that is seeking to shut it down. There are coercive elements in the Spanish state constitution such as Article 155 which denies the national and democratic rights of the people. We stand with our brothers and sisters in our sister organisations in the Spanish state and Catalonia for the unity of working people in Catalonia and people across the Spanish state in defence of democratic and national rights. We stand against the right-wing and repressive Rajoy government. This is about ordinary people on the ground and those who are struggling. They are building a major school student strike on 28 September and dockers have rightly refused to assist police boats in Barcelona port. Others are pushing for a one-day general strike in Catalonia and the Spanish state to defend the democratic rights under threat.

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