Paul Bradford (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is a week of commemoration and we have mentioned war death commemorations and those who died on the roads. On Sunday, the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was marked, and this was surely part of the most momentous political development in the past 50 years. We should remember all those people who in the decades before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain lost their lives for simply attempting to be free citizens. It is ironic that some people in this country, including in this or the other House, who claim to be progressive, left-wing and daring in their politics would have the Berlin Wall still standing if they had their way. It represented the politics which they now represent. I salute all those people whose efforts led to the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago. For all of the current imperfect politics, Europe is a much better, safer and more free and democratic place now.

We should never forget the people who wanted the wall to remain standing and the sort of politicians and politics they stood for. Some of them are still with us.