Seanad debates

Tuesday, 4 November 2014

3:20 pm

Photo of Mary Ann O'BrienMary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ten days ago there was a fatal crash on exit 13 of the M7 northbound when five young men, the youngest of whom was 12, were in a car being chased by gardaí. A 30 year old lady, who was coming from doing her supermarket shopping on her way home from work, was killed stone dead. The man driving the car had 20 convictions. What sort of justice system do we have if a man, who has a 12 year old child in the back of his car, is committing robberies in north Tipperary and driving recklessly with gardaí chasing him all day?

The whole thing is a joke.

I also support Senator Whelan's comments on the wonder of what members of the Garda are doing in certain parts of the county. I was in Kilkenny, one of my favourite cities in the country and a beautiful tourist attraction, last weekend. A 238 year old bridge in the middle of this medieval city is about to be replaced by a new construction. Normal people like ourselves have been out protesting about it. Some have even taken a week off work to do so in the hope of preventing this happening. In a context where the heritage budget has been reduced from €22 million to €7 million, it is no wonder these people cannot get support. Twenty gardaí arrived at the bridge last week to remove one protestor who was taking turns with others to protest through the night. Will the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government come to the House to talk about what is happening in Kilkenny city? I am loath to say it but the fact is that corruption and brown envelopes are destroying one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

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