Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I add my voice to those who spoke about the horrific assassination of the two soldiers and a police officer and the attack on the civilians. I express my condolences to the families of those killed and concern for those injured. None of us stands over a return to this type of activity. People from all political parties, North and South, standing together and condemning outright such activity has been a very positive sign that things have moved on significantly. For a while, one wondered whether people said one thing to their constituents and another in Parliament. However, when all politicians stand together and are as firm as they have been over the past few days, it is a great sign that things have moved on.

I agree with Senator Joe O'Toole that we should expose and exploit the things that are working extremely well. There has been a development in regard to how the history of the recent conflict is taught. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement met Dr. Eames and Mr. Denis Bradley last Thursday, and these are the types of issues at which they are still looking. What truth do we want to teach our children and our grandchildren? There is no truth, there is my version and somebody else's version of what happened. What we teach in schools must have that multiperspectivity. The other side must be put forward. We must do everything we can to ensure both sides get to know each other from primary school onwards.

I do not want to get into who might be arrested at this point but people over ten and under 25 years of age may not realise the realities of the Troubles, the awful carnage that took place and the psychological, physical and emotional damage done in many homes in Ulster. We cannot allow that to continue with the next generation.

Will the Leader arrange for the Minister of State with responsibility for children to come to the House to discuss an issue that was brought to my attention? I am chair of the youth committee in the Council of Europe and we will look at an item called the mosquito device. It is used in the UK primarily but it is also used in Ireland in areas where young people tend to congregate. It is a high pitched long frequency acoustic device that is supposed to annoy those under 20 years of age because it can only be heard by people up to that age. People over 20 years of age tend not to be able to hear it. It irritates those affected so much that they disperse, which is the goal, namely, to prevent young people from congregating. However, if a mother with a two year old child goes to a shopping centre, the child will be exposed to this sound but the mother will not hear it. The child will try to get away from the sound but the mother will not know what is the problem. That is one issue. Another issue is whether foetuses, unborn children, can hear it and the damage it causes. We should discuss whether we need to regulate, prohibit or promote the use of such devices. I would appreciate any exposure we can get on this issue so that we can get an Irish perspective on this international debate.