Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to contribute to the debate and I appreciate the Minister's presence here. I disagree with many of the comments that have been made. I was disillusioned that within one hour of the events that took place last week we were either blaming the Garda or calling for the resignation of the Minister. That demeans politics.

I would make one plea — the Minister and Senator Walsh are as guilty as anyone in this regard — about something that angers me. If I am at home having a peaceful weekend and I hear thugs being described as republicans I feel a surge of anger. I understood from school that republicanism was where Protestant, Catholic and dissenter shared the same space and engaged and interacted with each other. The idea of describing these thugs as republicans is unacceptable. It would be better to call them fascists, neo-Nazis or something else. If they described themselves as Australians, would we accept it? They are merely taking on a proud title for which people in this country have fought over generations. These people are anything but republicans.

I chaired the liaison group for Co-Operation Ireland in this House, of which Senator Maurice Hayes is a member. We recently experienced something similar in a non-violent way. One of the few places in Northern Ireland where one cannot distinguish between Catholics and Protestants is at a race meeting. The Down Royal race meeting had bomb scares on the last three occasions. I recently suggested to the manager of the Down Royal racecourse that a group of politicians from the South should attend the event on the next occasion. We resent and reject not allowing people to engage in events. I will be writing to Members regarding the Ulster Derby in Down Royal which will be held on the last Saturday in June.

I am aware why Senator Brian Hayes asked that pubs and off-licences be closed on St. Patrick's Day. While I know he is well motivated, I do not want the Minister to do so. I would like him to ask people to control their drinking. I do not want the Minister to close the pubs. Let us disgrace ourselves once more if we must. We will eventually get it right and learn to control ourselves.

I do not want an inquiry into the events of last Saturday. Instead, I want to know why a large proportion of our population apparently believes this march should not have taken place. Why have we produced several generations who do not understand the importance of protest and the right to demonstrate, and that our raison d'être for some 800 years has been to secure these rights? This question is more important than the rocks on O'Connell Street. The day we prevent free speech is the day it is all over.

Why have people like me, an educationalist, failed to inculcate the quality of tolerance in others? Although I do not normally quote clerics or well known Catholics,——