Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the crisis in Catalonia and Spain. I travelled to Catalonia to observe the independence referendum held on 1 October. I was invited by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia and I was one of 33 European parliamentarians who were there as visitors. On the day of the vote, the Spanish state police went on the rampage. They fired plastic and rubber bullets at people queuing to vote, and they beat old people and women with batons. They injured more than 900. This was savage repression. It was probably worse than anything else of its kind seen in a western European country in more than 30 years. It stirred up memories of the era of the Franco dictatorship. It was overseen by the Rajoy government in Madrid. It oversaw the drafting into Catalonia of 16,000 Spanish state police. It oversaw 75% of Spain's riot police being sent to Catalonia in the run-up to the vote. They made no effort to check the violence on the day. The Rajoy government is a right-wing government. I believe Mr. Rajoy's party, Partido Popular, is Fine Gael's sister party in the European People's Party in the European Parliament.

In the aftermath of the police rampage, the Taoiseach said he was distressed by what he saw. I was a bit distressed by his use of language. He did not say what occurred was shocking, disgraceful or unacceptable, and he did not condemn it. He should have done so. I put it to the Minister of State that the Taoiseach pulled his punches. What he said was that Ireland would not recognise the referendum result and would respect the territorial unity of Spain. In other words, he will oppose Catalonia's right to decide. He and the Minister of State must answer the question as to how one keeps a nation imprisoned within a state when a majority of its people – I believe it is a majority at this stage – wish for independence.

I have another question. At the start of the week, we saw the jailing of two civil society leaders "pending investigation". That sounds like internment to me. These are political prisoners now. For what were they imprisoned? It was for calling demonstrations. Barcelona's major, Ms Ada Colau, has said the imprisonment is a threat to everyone's rights and freedoms. Therefore, I must ask the Minister of State a straight question: does she agree with that statement of the mayor? I call for the immediate release of the men. Is the Minister of State prepared to do so? What will she do concretely to raise this issue at the European Council?

Attempts have been made by some, particularly Sinn Féin Deputies, to draw a direct parallel between the Catalan independence referendum and an Irish Border poll under the Good Friday Agreement. It is not a comparison that I accept. An Irish Border poll would be guaranteed to divide ordinary people in Northern Ireland along sectarian lines. The Catalan independence issue, on the other hand, has the potential to unite ordinary people against the political establishment to achieve both national rights and social change. More than 80% of people living in Catalonia supported Catalonia's right to decide and to call a referendum. The people I met in the course of my visit, including many I spoke to on the day of the general strike, when more than 1 million people came out onto the streets of Barcelona, wanted a different Catalonia, not a Catalonia of austerity, a Catalonia of mass unemployment for the youth or a Catalonia of evictions. Barcelona is the evictions capital of Europe. All these policies have been supported by the Puigdemont Government, which is a right-wing government.

I stand not merely for a Catalan republic but for a socialist republic of Catalonia that would guarantee all rights for all minorities, including the Spanish-speaking Castilian minority, and join with working-class people throughout the whole Spanish State to challenge not only the Partido Popular government but also the capitalist system it defends.

I will conclude with my questions. Why is there no stronger condemnation from the Irish Minister? Does the Irish Government support the immediate release of those jailed or interned at the start of the week? What will it do concretely at the European Council to further that aim? How can the Government defend a nation being imprisoned within a state when a majority of its people - I believe it is now a majority - wish for independence?

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