Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is no place in Irish society for this type of behaviour and this message should go out loud and clear. I know my colleagues in the other House, irrespective of their political differences with the Minister, have also condemned the attacks. The Fianna Fáil group in its entirety utterly and unambiguously condemns this outrageous uncivilised behaviour by a person or persons unknown and assures the Minister that we do not in any way support it.

I want to cast minds back to when the Government was formed and concerns were expressed about what was seen as a very serious rural-urban imbalance in the appointment of Ministers. It was stated at the time that it would come back to haunt the Government. Far be it from me to disagree with my friend and colleague, Senator Paul Coghlan, on the most recent statements made by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, but one reads headlines such as that on page 1 of the Irish Independent "Varadkar's plan to close railways" and another on page 17 about new fears of another blow to rural life amid a warning of train service cuts. It is not coming from this side of the House; it is what the people believe what is happening, that the Government is systematically shutting down rural Ireland. This is the perception, regardless of whether Senators like it.