Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

So many things could be said. As I considered where to begin, I clarified my thinking and thought there is only one place to begin and that is that arson is wrong. Arson is wrong, criminal damage is wrong, attacks on property are wrong and potentially putting people at risk of serious injury and death is wrong. There is no excuse for it and no justification. It is clearly becoming a tactic and a strategy of people who are nasty actors trying to unilaterally take decisions about what places should or should not be used to accommodate people. Much can and will be said in terms of the approach that should be taken but it can never justify what is happening.

It is concerning that this is clearly a pattern that is repeating. It raises the question of whether enough is being done about security around these incidents. Unfortunately, in most cases we are not at the stage of prosecutions yet. I am sure gardaí are working as hard as they can to pursue the people responsible for this. I am very concerned, and this concern has been expressed by others, that there is undoubtedly potential for somebody to be badly hurt or killed in one of these incidents. The people who undertake these actions must know they are taking enormous risks with people's welfare and lives.

The context of this is immigration and migration. Sometimes the two are conflated. There are differences. In the minds of most people, they are part of the same discussion. I often think in trying to imagine where people are at, of a public meeting with 100 people attending that there might be ten who are entirely comfortable and at ease, ten who might be vociferously angry to the point potentially of being violent and aggressive, and probably a large number of people in the middle between those extremes. There are undoubtedly ways of raising concerns about these issues. I recognise that people have concerns and it is important that Irish politics does not repeat the mistakes that have been made elsewhere of discarding entirely people who have such reservations. The language is deplorable. People are entitled to have their views and to express them. Many people have expressed such concerns to me in respectful ways that I can comprehend. I might not agree with every part of them but I can comprehend and listen to them. Some people have made appointments to see me in my clinic, some have made phone calls and others have raised it at the door. There should be a place in our democracy for people to express concerns in such ways as that. I agreed with part of Deputy Ó Riordáin's contribution. It is important in this debate where we are talking about the arson attacks that we take the opportunity to distinguish that there are legitimate ways of expressing concern and I have given some examples. There are forms of protest that are legitimate, even if I might disagree with the policy objectives of such protests. What is not legitimate is burning buildings down, barracking women and children as they enter accommodation or putting people at risk of serious harm. There is absolutely no scope for that whatsoever. I believe mistakes have been made in communications. I am astonished. I mentioned directly to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, the need to tackle the issue of misinformation. People have concerns, some of them are legitimate but unfortunately some are not, some of them are based on fiction. Some are based on things that are not even real. The fact it has taken so long for the Government to get to grips with that and to try to tackle that misinformation is a source of huge concern. The communication with communities has at times been poor. The policy approach of renting private accommodation, if it was ever viable, has clearly run its course and a different approach is needed. We need a system that is rules-based, fair and decent but is consistent as well, with confidence in its working.

Much the same as that imaginary public meeting I spoke of with 100 people, there is a diversity of views here as well. However, that can never justify attacks on property, putting at risk people's lives and their welfare, which is much more important than property. That applies right across the political spectrum. I understand Deputy Carol Nolan's constituency office was damaged over the weekend. That is also unacceptable. No matter what a person's perspective is, political representatives should not be at risk of that. There is no justification for attacks and the arson that has been happening here. I hope those people are brought to justice.

See this speech in context