Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is good to see the Ceann Comhairle back in the Chair. I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this very difficult and solemn debate to which I have listened intently. This is one of those moments when all of us in the House reflect the mood of the entire nation, north, south, east and west, on the sheer upset and hurt caused by the devastating tragedy in Creeslough. We look at the requests and responses that have come from this. As Deputy McHugh said so eloquently, it is about ensuring the support services are there for as long as they are needed and they will be needed for so much longer.

The victims of this tragedy must be remembered. That this tragedy occurred almost seven years to the day since a tragic fire in my constituency in Carrickmines when ten people also lost their lives brought home just how much this will occupy the hearts and minds of the entire nation and not only the families of the victims, the immediate community and the emergency services. The emergency services deserve particular credit for the fact that they rushed to deal with it from throughout the island. They showed unwavering commitment to the cause.

This event is devastating and everyone can see themselves or their family members in the images of the victims. They try to put themselves in the shoes of the family members, friends and community. They ask how they could possibly deal with such unfathomable devastation. People say time is a healer but it does not bring back loved ones. What is the responsibility of all of us in the Oireachtas? It is to ensure we continue to speak about this and continue to support our Oireachtas colleagues from Donegal, who have spoken so eloquently and emotionally this afternoon, as well as councillors and local authority members to ensure supports are provided for the entire community.

I mention in passing a family who live on the same road as me in Dublin as it shows the breadth of this tragedy and how it affected so many people. They lost their little cousin and her father in the tragedy. Their immediate response, of course, was great upset. These are young children of national school age. They also wanted to do something to remember their cousin who was not with them for particularly long. They baked cakes and got the school community in Stepaside to contribute to ensure there would be a permanent memorial in the school and preschool of their little cousin. The question is what can we do when we get like this. Doing something is often the hardest thing. We saw the action of very young children who will live with this for the rest of the lives. They will live with it much longer than the rest of us. We can look at the motivation to provide hope for all families and all victims, to keep the memories alive and to provide supports.

Deputy Bríd Smith mentioned the victims of the awful Stardust tragedy. There was also the Carrickmines fire in my constituency. There are many more such tragedies for which there is no explanation. The memories of those lost must not only be kept alive among their loved ones, family members and communities but, crucially, among the nation as a whole. It was telling that we saw condolence messages come to the community in Creeslough from around the world, including from the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, the Ceann Comhairle and many other people. This showed how much this tragedy hit home for so many people.

I will finish with a particular reference to the Oireachtas Members and public representatives in Donegal who stood up here and made very difficult comments. I saw Deputy Doherty on the evening news several hours afterwards. I was struck by how tough it is to act in service of the community and State at these times. All of them have done so with such levels of dignity and compassion. Those of us in politics who perhaps have become a little bit cynical about life should always remember that our duty is to our constituents at all times. If we can carry ourselves half as well as they have done in recent weeks, we will be of some credit to our own constituencies.

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