Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I add my voice to Senator Quinn's call for mandatory swimming lessons for young people. As somebody who worked in a swimming pool facility as a lifeguard and a swimming instructor for many years during my youth, I know the value and importance of people being in control in the water and knowing how to swim. I convey my sympathies to the families of the unfortunate people who lost their lives this week.

I extend my condolences to the family of Val Doonican. He was a great statesman and a wonderful person to highlight all the good things coming in the country with his very successful career. I hope that he can now walk tall through the gates of Heaven.

I raise also the events that took place outside the gates of Leinster House yesterday. Mine was one of two cars surrounded by protestors last night while trying to leave. I had to leave to deal with an emergency situation, which had serious knock-on consequences for me at 12 o'clock last night. I was shocked by the tone and the animosity shown to the gardaí last night and I could not praise the gardaí highly enough for their behaviour and their bravery. No amount of money would pay anybody to stand on the street and take the abuse they took last night. We go into this job knowing that we have to take the rough with the smooth, but I saw a young garda who was standing right beside my car being hit by a cone and knocked out - she fell like a tonne of bricks - and 20 minutes later she insisted that she wanted to go back on duty. That was above and beyond the call of duty. I understand that garda is still in hospital this morning, having been taken to hospital last night.It is not right. We can all engage in peaceful protests, but nobody should be subjected to having their car thumped or being spat at, or to the absolutely abusive language that was used last night. That protest was supposed to start at 6 p.m., yet from 3 p.m. yesterday people were stopped from getting in and out. I looked on social media this morning and people are passing comments. At no stage did the gardaí tell me last night that I could not leave. I explained the situation to them.