Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Senator Conway-Walsh in condemning the actions at the bonfires last night. The pictures of the former Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, along with many other candidates from the SDLP and Sinn Féin on bonfires across Northern Ireland must be condemned. I will be raising this at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly plenary in Kilkenny next Sunday. This is not in the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement. I remember that we had a Love Ulster march here in 2006 and the gardaí were not in a position to arrest people, but three or four weeks later, after reviewing video evidence, they knocked on people's doors. There has to be video evidence of this and I urge the PSNI to be able to get to the bottom of this very sinister development when things calm down.

Senator Bacik rightly commented the issue surrounding the Olympics. I raised this important issue at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport today. We talk about how sport can be a unique opportunity to unite people, and it is a unique opportunity to showcase the island of Ireland. I stated this because the Durban Commonwealth Games have now been cancelled. There is a wonderful, unique opportunity for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will certainly be located in the United Kingdom, to be located in Northern Ireland. We can cross the Border and all lines with it. It is a great time to showcase the island of Ireland, with our facilities, including Croke Park, Windsor Park, Casement Park and the Aviva Stadium. I call on the Northern Ireland Executive, when it meets, to propose that the Commonwealth Games could be located in Northern Ireland.What better showcase for the island of Ireland? It would be a great preview of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which we in the House supported yesterday. The dream of locating the Olympics on the island of Ireland could yet come to pass. This is a wonderful opportunity and we should embrace it.