Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

There will probably be members of my community who will be offended by what I am saying and believe that I am being anti-Catholic, anti-gospel and so on, but that is not at all the case. I am concerned about young people in our area. As a member of the Ballyfermot Anti-Racism Network, I have had long conversations with Fr. Adrian Egan. I commend him on sticking his neck out and speaking. The church has its own debates. Those are its business and I am not trying to interfere in them.

On a given night in Ballyfermot in 2015, up to 200 people were canvassing estates, knocking on doors and asking people to think about their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. We were pushing against an open door, and the results showed that. In one ballot box from Cherry Orchard, more than 90% of people voted to recognise same-sex marriage. In another box from Ballyfermot's main street, the figure was approximately 85%. Overall, my constituency of Dublin South-Central voted for same-sex marriage by a staggering 72.3% .

I say this because it is the canary in the coal mine when we see people starting to attack gay rights. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán did not start by attacking the gay community. He started with immigrants before moving on to attacking workers by forcing them to work as much as 400 hours in overtime per month and wait up to three years for payment. He was not without opposition then, just as he is not without opposition now as regards the laws he is introducing against gay people, but we cannot afford to go down that road in this country.

When I read about these incidents and try to confront the rhetoric of the far right, something that sticks in my mind is a poem written in 1946 after the war by another priest, Pastor Martin Niemöller, survivor of the concentration camps:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

I am not being rhetorical in using these words. They are important and should be in all our hearts, particularly during Pride week.

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