Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One month on, even after all that has been said, there are still no words to describe the trauma, heartbreak, pain and sorrow being felt by so many because of what happened in Creeslough. Ten lives are gone. The impact of such a loss has now truly hit home. For at least ten homes, it will never go away. The truth is that Creeslough will never be the same. A semblance of normality will return, but from now on Creeslough will always be a place marked by sorrow for everyone who lives in, visits and drives through the town.

It will also, though, be a symbol of the best of humanity, of Ireland and of Donegal. It will be a symbol of a community coming together and of resilience and solidarity. I again commend all those who ran to assist in the immediate aftermath of the explosion. I refer to volunteers and those in the emergency services, who worked alongside each other in a desperate bid to save lives. I again commend all those who provided such crucial leadership in the month that has followed this awful explosion. I also again commend Fr. John Doe Duffy and other clergy, as well as other leaders, in GAA and other sports clubs and community organisations. In this, I include the local Oireachtas Members who stood by and with the community through a very tough period. I commend the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, for his speech today. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I especially commend Deputies Doherty and Mac Lochlainn. Like other elected representatives, they have gone through what must have been, on any level, the very traumatic experience of having had to stand beside so many families who experienced such devastating loss over such a short time. I have no doubt that all these Oireachtas Members and local elected representatives will continue to advocate for the needs of the people they represent in Creeslough and the surrounding areas. These needs must be met.

After all the news stories have been written, families and communities must have full recourse to the resources they need and any answers they require. I am conscious this State has not always delivered these things for families that have experienced such tragedies in the past. I hope, however, that the unity of this House, which we heard expressed in the statements in the immediate aftermath and again today, will ensure there is a different legacy and a different story when it comes to Creeslough. I also wish to be associated with the remarks of sympathy conveyed to the families of Jessica Gallagher, Martin McGill, Leona Harper, Robert Garwe, little Shauna Flanagan Garwe, James O'Flaherty, Martina Martin, Hugh Kelly, Catherine O'Connell and James Monaghan. We shall remember them. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse.

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