Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the matter raised by Deputy Doherty, I spoke on Newstalk yesterday and I am happy to repeat what I said then. It is not often the Deputy and I agree 100% but on this occasion I do agree 100% with him. What we saw happen in Northern Ireland with effigies and posters of politicians, including Michelle O'Neill, Naomi Long and others, mainly female politicians but not always, being burned is unacceptable. We also saw the Tricolour and the Palestinian flag, you name it, being burned on bonfires in Northern Ireland. I respect orange culture and I attended a twelfth parade in Enniskillen some years ago with Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster. It was a very well organised and respectful event. It is right that people should celebrate their culture, including orange culture, but burning images of other people and other countries’ flags is not culture. That is hatred and it is absolutely wrong and, on behalf of the Government, I completely condemn it.

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