Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I regret bringing us down from such high culture to a much more unfortunate topic. I want to draw the Leader’s and colleagues’ attention to the monstrosities being inflicted on communities across the North, quite substantially focused in and around the greater Belfast area. These monstrosities I refer to are often referred to as bonfires. They are more often than not referred to as expressions of culture. There is no doubt for many people in the Protestant, unionist and loyalist tradition in Ireland that they hold a dear and important place in their hearts as an expression of culture. We all know the longer traditional role of bonfires in our own Gaelic and pagan heritage on this island, as well as their symbolic importance and what they represented.

What we have seen manifested in the streets over the past several years, however, really cannot be described than anything else than hate crimes. We have seen effigies, the Irish national flag and other flags placed on these bonfires. We have seen election posters placed on these bonfires, including one of our own Senator Rose Conway-Walsh. They had to go all the way to Mayo to get that poster.

I am not raising this issue to be facetious or confrontational on the matter.The reason I raise it here in this Chamber is because, over today, tomorrow and the longer summer months, officials from the Irish Government will be engaging with the PSNI and with loyalist and republican communities in regard to contentious parades. It is vitally important that officials from the Irish Government say to the loyalist representatives who they are dealing with, because, unfortunately, unionist politicians have gone to ground, that this is not good enough. It is not good enough to engage with the Irish Government, receive funding from the Irish Government for community and reconciliation projections but then go and burn the Irish national flag and try to pass that off as culture. It is not culture, it is anti-culture. It is hate crime. It is important that the PSNI treat it accordingly and that a clear loud message goes from this House that the Members of the Oireachtas are encouraging officials from the Irish Government who are responsible to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, that we are watching, that we do not think it is acceptable or tolerable in 2017 and that the PSNI should act.

In case I do not get the chance, I wish County Down all the very best in the Ulster final on Sunday - a real expression of culture.