Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with all of the Senators who said, in effect, that what happened over the weekend is clearly a threat to our democracy. Indeed, it might be more than just last weekend. There are small groups of people who are hijacking peaceful protests for their own purposes and sinister agendas. They have done it on several occasions, as we have seen. Clearly, they do not believe in democracy. As one newspaper put it today, they believe in class envy, venom and the mob. It behoves all of us in this democratic Chamber to condemn these unacceptable practices in the strongest possible terms. That is something on which this House can easily unite, please God.