Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

Last week I was very annoyed about bomb scares in Derry which affected access between Belfast and Dublin. On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the joint birthday party of an 80 year old and a 76 year old in Bridgend. Their entire family circle was together for the party. On Sunday night I had the less pleasurable task of checking with a superintendent that they were safe because they were in the house closest to a van which potentially held a bomb and reportedly had been driven across the Border from Derry and abandoned by four armed and masked men. Fortunately, it was a hoax. Unfortunately, however, there was much disruption. We had to wait for a bomb disposal unit to come from Athlone. Yesterday one of the two people mentioned ended up in hospital and we still do not know whether it was directly or indirectly related to the scare received. Another device was left outside a head shop in Letterkenny.

I again call for a debate on the type of republic we want on this island as we approach 2016. I call for a joint debate on the issue with the Ministers for Defence and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, as well as any other relevant Minister. People from England attended the quiet happy family event mentioned. They are asking whether it was because they had come from England that the bomb was left near them, even though it was not a bomb. Locals are wondering what potential outside investors and tourists are thinking. We have to be clear and state this is not supported by us. We need the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Minister to state there is full North-South co-operation in the north west to ensure this action is not allowed to persist and that the people involved are pursued vigorously. I ask that we consider having cross-Border bomb disposal units because the more we allow the inconvenience the more effective they are. While we do not want to have bomb disposal units-----