John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

In light of the appalling murder of the young Jordanian air force pilot by ISIS, it is important to condemn this action categorically and that it would be condemned by all right-thinking and decent people everywhere. Even though ISIS and the Middle East seem very far away from us, geographically, I ask the Leader to arrange a debate with the Minister for Justice and Equality or the Minister for Defence on the reported number of Irish people, or people who have lived at one time or another in Ireland, who may have joined ISIS in the Middle East. This is an important issue for debate because it should be fully discussed.

On a separate point which I did not intend to raise but in reference to Senator Cullinane's few comments, the notion of a debt conference in Europe is certainly something that is worth considering. However, the Government's position is that Ireland is in a very different place from Greece. The Irish economy is doing much better than the Greek economy. It is all a matter of economic and political stability which is absent in Greece. To link Ireland's fortunes with those of Greece may not be in Ireland's best interest in that we might be giving the impression that Ireland's economic recovery is as fragile and as unstable as that of Greece. That is the Government position and it is not right for Senator Cullinane to misrepresent that situation.