Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Beidh mé díreach agus go dtí an pointe sa chás seo. The election campaign continues in the north east of the country and the Leader has rightly and wisely advised us to steer clear of partisan statements or engagements in that regard. I will take his advice and guidance on that but it is important that I draw Members' attention to an incident that occurred last night and hopefully galvanise Members regarding it. The car belonging to the election agent of the Sinn Féin candidate in North Down, Kieran Maxwell, was petrol bombed in front of his home last night. North Down in recent times has not been a hotbed for Sinn Féin or republican activity. It is not a place that is greatly familiar with that political outlook but, nevertheless, a small group of locals have engaged diligently, passionately and, in this instance, openly and transparently in trying to build their politics. Regardless of where we sit in this House in terms of party politics, we can all agree that we enter this realm for genuine and hopeful reasons in terms of trying to improve the quality of life for the communities in which we live. I believe this House should express its solidarity to the man involved in this incident, which comes on the back of threats being made to him and other cumann members via social media. It also follows the removal of election posters in the area.

This is a dangerous and brutal edge to this campaign and we should send a clear message that that kind of brutal politics has no place on our island. Through the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and, critically, officials in the British-Irish Joint Secretariat, we should ensure that pressure is put on the PSNI to investigate this incident fully but also that the message goes from this House that regardless of who they are, where they come from or the party politics they intend to engage in, this kind of intimidation, bullying and violence has no place in political life and should be faced down.