David Norris (Independent)

We are due another debate on Northern Ireland in light of the defence of Fr. Alec Reid by Senator McCarthy. I respect Fr. Reid, as he has done honourable, good and historic work. However, it was not acceptable for him to say what he did, which I heard clearly. He said the Unionist community behaves like Nazis. This is not correct and many members of that community will be offended because their relatives died fighting fascism in Europe while the IRA collaborated as much as it could with the Nazis. One recalls the tale of Mr. Seán Russell, the IRA's chief of staff, returning to Ireland in a German submarine.

It would be dangerous to travel down these roads and we must bear in mind the notion of parity of esteem. People should be very ashamed of some acts, such as the Shankill butchers. However, a good point made was that the Protestant community has never supported these butchers. They never get anywhere politically and are wiped out electorally whereas Sinn Féin, the political representative of the provisional IRA, is now the principal Nationalist party in the North. We should put these elements in context. While I honour Fr. Reid's work, his comments were regrettable. I, like everyone else, have put my foot in it several times.