Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join Senators Norris and Wilson regarding the farce that is Seanad by-elections. Fortunately, the new Senator did not have the same trouble I did in the context of trying to find nine people to sign a nomination form. I thank Fianna Fáil and the nine Independent Members of the Oireachtas who gave me two nominations. I will support Senator Wilson's new Bill to extend the electorate beyond the confines of Leinster House.

I did not know Jimmy Harte and I regret that to some degree. Given the kind words have been said about the former Senator, apparently I missed out on knowing a great man. I wish him well.

I welcome Senator Cahill. I will echo Senator Bradford's words by saying that she should use her time here to engage in constructive debate, champion the issues she has brought into the public domain in recent times, see people for who they are in here and see our point of view. That will be important.

Like every other Senator, I am appalled by the situation in Paris. The security of a nation does not fall to the security services alone. We must wake up to the fact that we live in a new world where people can traverse the globe and travel to this country in a matter of hours. It behoves every citizen in the country to report things they find suspicious. We walk past a suitcase sitting unattended and leave it there. Last night, as I sat in Lansdowne Road and watched a fantastic match which led to our qualifying for the finals of the European Championships, it crossed my mind that if three individuals walked into the stadium wearing vests loaded with explosives and detonated them, how many hundreds more people would be killed in the ensuing stampede?It behoves every single one of us, and I do not appreciate the Minister stating the country is safe. Nowhere in the world is safe now. This message needs to go out. I support the call for a debate on security in the House.