David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I unreservedly condemn the appalling massacre in Manchester but one must also ask where does this viciousness come from.It is not a natural part of human nature. One must, regrettably, remember the unspeakable massacre of civilians by the American bombing of men, women and children in Falluja.

I rise today to express my regret at the closing of GLEN. It originally emerged from the Hirschfeld Centre. It did a remarkable and very professional job of lobbying and campaigning. It published a series of very important reports on the situation, establishing for the first time a factual basis on which Government policy could be launched. It was originally funded by Chuck Feeney, and we need to pay tribute to his enormous impact and generosity. In the early days of the gay movement, we got no grants whatever. We had to earn all the money ourselves. I remember some weeks I did five discos a night - a week, not a night. Five discos a night would be a bit much even for me.