James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I stand to express my confidence in the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and it is an honour to serve with her in the Department of Justice. Our primary thoughts this evening are with those children and the crèche worker injured on that day. I thank the members of the public, the emergency workers and the healthcare workers who all rushed to the scene on that occasion.

Out of this tragedy the far right saw an opportunity and took it to create division, to sow misinformation and to whip up fear. What followed in Dublin city later that evening was an absolute disgrace. They brought shame on themselves. Thugs saw an opportunity and took it to cause violence, destruction and fear. Our emergency workers responded with bravery and responded swiftly to the scene to defend the communities.

Sinn Féin saw an opportunity and took it. Its response to an unimaginable tragedy and violence, and fear in our communities, was to rush out and instrumentalise that tragedy. When there was a threat to democracy and the ship needed to be steadied, Sinn Féin's first instinct was to try to tip it over. When it realised it had completely misjudged the public's response, it found somebody who could not defend themselves and paraded their photograph around the place. It punched down. Of course, punching down when in trouble is a red flag for populists throughout the world.

This evening Sinn Féin has stood up to state its support for An Garda Síochána. Let us remember the record, and one instance in particular, of Sinn Féin and its sister organisation the IRA in my county of Wexford. Garda Seamus Quaid was murdered by the IRA. His family had to remove his memorial in protest at Sinn Féin holding its Ard-Fheis in County Wexford. Sinn Féin spent decades undermining law and order in this State with deadly consequences.

Around the time of the tragedy in the north inner city I was on Green Street where I was speaking at a SAOL Project event. The SAOL Project is a community project that deals with women who suffer from domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and those with addiction issues. I will repeat what I said at that event. A number of people are criticising the Minister, Deputy McEntee, with derogatory comments about woke issues. Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a law and order issue.

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