Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is quite distressing for me to see what happened to people I know for many years. Like the Minister and other speakers, I acknowledge that we must condemn all violence and all types of thuggery. However, this unfortunate event began with the eviction. Nobody in this House can condone what happened last Sunday evening. However, because a criminal investigation is ongoing, I will say no more about it.

I accept that there must be more engagement by the banks. Yesterday, I spoke to representatives of KBC bank on behalf of the family and asked them take a step back, allow the situation to calm down and begin negotiations as soon as possible. I have had four engagement in the past two years with banks in the Roscommon-Galway region, which I represent, and in each case I was able to get matters solved through negotiation. However, people must tell us if they have problems and allow us to get involved with the banks. I agree that the banks need to do more and to be more accommodating.

I call for calm in our region and, please, let everybody work to settle this situation which is currently quite critical.

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