Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom ar dtús fáilte mhór a chur roimh an Seanadóir Máiría Cahill chuig an Seanad. Táim lánchinnte go mbainfear tairbhe mhór as a saothar sa Teach seo. I welcome Senator Máiría Cahill to the House. It is a great tribute to her strength of mind and courage that she has arrived at this place, both literally and metaphorically. I am tempted to say she will need all that strength of mind and courage to survive here as well. I do but jest. I know that she is here to make a contribution and I have no doubt that although her time will be relatively short, in the first instance at least, she will make a significant contribution and that her bad and good experiences will inform a narrative that will be of particular interest and significance in this House. I hope she will become a member of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and will bring something significant to that committee also.

What happened in Paris was absolutely horrendous, as Senator Darragh O'Brien said. Paris is known as La Ville Lumière, the City of Light, but last Friday it became the city of darkness where the whole civilisation that we have built up since the Second World War of liberal democracy in Europe appeared to be threatened. As Senator Darragh O'Brien said, we must stand together for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. I note he was not being adversarial today so that should be reciprocated. The universal becomes the local. In Paris last Friday, a young girl from my village of Blackrock, Katie Healy, and her boyfriend, David Nolan from Millstreet in Cork, were caught in the Bataclan theatre. David, through an heroic gesture in throwing himself over Katie to protect her, was shot but he probably saved both their lives. It shows that we are Paris, we are France, and we are Europe.