Brendan Kenneally (Fianna Fail)

I concur with other speakers who called for a debate on what happened on the streets of our capital city last Saturday. I agree there is a certain cohort among our community which was opposed to this parade because of those who would march in it. For once, however, I find myself in agreement with Senator Ryan that it did not matter to most of the rioters who was marching; the parade was merely an excuse for sheer thuggery by an out-of-control mob.

However, we must also look to the reasons for this event. It is a more violent manifestation of what is already happening in our society. Such violence and anti-social behaviour is happening to a lesser degree in every town and city and it is something we can no longer tolerate. It may be the case that there are insufficient deterrents. My learned friends who deal with such behaviour in the courts are not applying the rigours of the law. We must introduce more cases of mandatory sentencing so that effective deterrents are in place to finally bring an end to this type of thuggery and yobbishness.