Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The right to peaceful protest has been long established going back to Gandhi, Martin Luther King and the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.

Senator Rónán Mullen: The plot is thickening in the Irish Water fiasco as it appears from the latest reports that Irish Water staff will not be paid any bonuses for 2014 and the entire pay structure is to be reviewed. We have the Minister, Deputy Kelly, expressing a personal view in the Dáil that the charges for fitting a water meter are too high. W, we have the Tánaiste expressing what was subsequently called a "personal view", that the water allowances for families are too low.

It is interesting that all three of those were quite successful in their protests, which were peaceful. It is with regret that I say how disgusted I am with the type of heavy-handed thuggery that went on over the weekend vis-à-visthe virtual kidnapping of the Tánaiste and the abuse the Taoiseach had to put up with. I do not care whether they are members of Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fáil or any other party, they are the leaders of our country and members of the Cabinet. All Oireachtas Members are entitled to be protected from that kind of behaviour. It appals me to see what is happening. It has become commonplace for Members of the Oireachtas to go among the crowds with megaphones. In fact, they have the greatest megaphone of all; in that they have the immense privilege of being Members of Dáil Éireann where they are one of 166 people who can stand up and fight their corner, but instead they are resorting to street politics and inciting people. It is very revealing that Sinn Féin is now trying to distance itself from that. Its members were experienced agents provocateurs themselves at public rallies. That illustrates how serious the situation has become, in the sense that the scene on the extreme left has become so crowded parties are trying to race each other to the bottom in terms of their behaviour.
To turn to a totally different subject, I wish to raise the problem of Japanese knotweed in the country. This is an invidious plant which has begun to take over in many scenic areas. It is highly aggressive and it is killing many native species, in particular in some of the most scenic tourism areas. I ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to address the problem. He must work with county councils and local community groups on how best to eradicate this insidious plant. In some jurisdictions, for example, in the UK, they take the problem so seriously that when someone applies for a mortgage the approval includes a compliance clause on Japanese knotweed. Senator Paul Coghlan is aware of the situation long ago with the dreaded rhododendron scourge in Killarney which threatened to take over a beautiful park there. The situation there fades to nothing in comparison with what Japanese knotweed is capable of doing. I urge the Leader to bring the matter to the attention of the Minister. I second the amendment to the Order of Business by the leader of the Opposition.