Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I was in the north inner city with the Minister, Deputy Foley, when this attack happened. My reaction and everybody's reaction were surely the same, one of absolute horror at the idea of children being stabbed on the street. Shortly afterwards, there was a horrible sense of imminence that there were people on the far right who would see this as an opportunity for advantage. They were people who were licking their lips at the thought that these acts may have been carried out by somebody who was born outside Ireland, hoping that they could react in this way to gain political advantage.

I did not expect or predict what Sinn Féin's reaction to this attack would be. I did not expect to see, in the Dáil Chamber, a photograph of a vulnerable person being held up, which clearly had the effect of encouraging suspicion towards homeless people and a sense that, when one sees a homeless person on the street, the person may pose a threat to children.That was the wrong thing to do. I am not saying that Sinn Féin members are bad people, and I do not believe that, but what Sinn Féin did that day was wrong. I also think that what Sinn Féin is doing today is wrong. Attacking the Minister, Deputy Helen McEntee, is playing into an existing far-right trope, the idea that a woman is too weak to be the justice minister. This is something I see put out on social media all the time, and it pushes that idea.

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