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

I thank Deputy Kenny. I wish to make two quick points. First, any idea that the answer to this is to ban or clamp down on protests is completely wrong. Ms Kamikaze has publicly stated that she will be opposed to any ban on protests. I am also opposed to such a ban because I know that it will be used against progressive protestors in the future. We have to defend civil liberties. This measure would be totally counterproductive. Progressive organisations and political parties, trade unions, NGOs, immigrants' rights groups, LGBTQ+ groups and animal rights groups need to come together and build a broad, united front against the growth of fascist and far-right ideas. These people are getting organised, and if they get a foothold in Irish society, the consequences will be quite horrific for immigrants, Muslims, asylum seekers, socialists, trade unionists and anyone who stands against the kind of society they want. We need to mobilise people in a safe, socially distant way to stand against these ideas.

Part of opposing the growth of the far right is giving people a true narrative. Many of these people oppose the Government and I think they are right to oppose the Government. They have been fed the idea that the Government is controlled by George Soros or a Covid-19 conspiracy. This is nonsense. We need to tell people the truth. The Government is influenced by the likes of Mr. Larry Goodman and Mr. Denis O'Brien. That is who holds power in this society. The reason we have a housing crisis is not because of migrants but because the Government allows the interests of landlords and developers to reign. We must build a mass left party in this country which sets out a vision of how society can be different and is therefore able to capture people's real anger and alienation and point it in a progressive direction that will lead us out of the crisis we face.

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