Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I extend my sympathy to our colleague, Senator Imelda Henry, on the passing of her dear mother, and to the family of former Senator Éamon de Buitléar.

There is an eerie silence around Leinster House today and, indeed, throughout Ireland. I extend my sympathy to the family of the deceased Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe. The hearts of the nation go out to the family today. This was not an accidental or panicked shooting. It was premeditated. That makes it more callous and chilling. There are people on both sides of the Border who know who were involved in this and I call on any right-thinking people who have any information to assist the Garda and the PSNI in bringing the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice. I welcome the fact that the Garda and PSNI appear to be working in very close co-operation to bring about the arrest of those people as a matter of urgency. As Senator Brennan said, those people must serve the full 40 years for this crime.

All of us, as well as the security and democracy of this State, depend on the Garda Síochána being able to go about its business in a safe manner. We must applaud the courage and bravery of Detective Garda Joe Ryan who returned to work yesterday. The man had to be severely traumatised after losing his colleague, but he came to work to assist the Garda with its investigations. That showed true courage and bravery. I agree with colleagues that in the fullness of time we must have a debate on security in the State and ensure that the Garda is fully resourced at all times to do the job we expect it to do. Today, however, we share in the grief of the Donohoe family and we hope this will never be visited on another family in this country again.