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

The decision of the Rajoy government to activate Article 155 and impose direct rule on Catalonia represents a major escalation of both repression and the crisis. It comes on top of the jailing of two leading civil society activists pending charges that could result in 15 years imprisonment for each. These two men are currently political prisoners facing a form of internment. It also comes in the aftermath of the police rampage against communities coming out to vote in the 1 October Catalan referendum, a rampage which resulted in 900 persons being injured and which shocked the world.

I am not the only one who has heard echoes of the Franco dictatorship in these events. I understand the Spanish ambassador is in the Gallery this evening and I would say to him, quite clearly, shame on the Spanish state for these actions. These actions represent not just an imposition-----

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