Alex White (Labour)

Ar dtús by mhaith liom aontú leis an Seanadóir Ó Tuathail mar gheal ar an díospóireacht Gaeilge tráthnóna inniu, agus tá súil agam go mbeidh ama ar fáil do Pairtí an Lucht Oibre san díospóireacht sin. I hope all parties get an opportunity to contribute to that debate. The time allocated seems to be somewhat short, however.

I agree with colleagues in respect of the events in the North. Everybody will agree that the joint appearance yesterday of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister was a moment of very considerable power, on a par, perhaps, with many of those moments that have occurred in the last ten years. They stood together to uphold politics and the rule of law over those who challenge the enormous achievements made in the past decade. It was a hugely important moment of solidarity which we should all strongly welcome. We should also welcome and support the initiative taken by one of the lead organisations in civil society North and South, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and we should remind ourselves of this when talking about the economy. It has taken a really important initiative, namely, the silent protests and vigils which it is organising in different venues throughout the North today. This Chamber should strongly support that initiative as a way for ordinary people to express their horror at the three murders which have occurred there.

The Cathaoirleach's former colleague, Dr. Maurice Hayes, wrote very clearly and compelling today that this is an important moment for us to uphold the operation of and, historically, the importance of politics, of people coming together and reaching agreement. I believe he said we should not talk ourselves into a crisis in regard to this, that we need cool heads and a cool response and, most important, we need to demonstrate by our actions that politics and democracy work and, as politicians, to set about leading a united community into the future in which there is no room for terrorism of any hue.