Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We need to address both concerns. That requires active engagement. It is not sufficient that Europe has said that it trusts the leadership of Prime Minister Rajoy, who has praised the "serenity" of riot police, who injured 900 people and used rubber bullets. We need to ask about the role of EU mediation. The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, has called for EU mediation. Where does Ireland stand on that call? Will Ireland support a role for Europe in this situation?In addition to Spain, Europe has a responsibility to move past our focus on securitisation in recent years, which has caused us to neglect the work of peace-building and diplomacy. This is something on which Europe - and Ireland within Europe - should be leading. We need to show we can step forward and recognise that peace-building and politics are not simply about law enforcement. They are about diplomacy, sensitivity, recognition of complexity and facilitating dialogue when it may seem impossible. This is something Ireland knows from its own history and role in peace-building and something we urge in Europe. We have relied on international engagement in the past to support us in this area. We now need to engage further with this issue. Where will Ireland stand? What will Ireland say at the Council of Ministers? Will we be demanding mediation? The 2012 decision to roll back on autonomy in Catalonia, for example, was allowed to pre-empt some of this. The role of regional development in Europe has taken a back seat in some of the short-term national fiscal targets. Public consultation and democracy have been neglected. There is an urgent role incumbent upon us now not simply to say the law is the law and so be it but rather to ask where is the space for new laws and new dialogue and how can we open this up. Ireland has a unique role in Europe. I would appreciate it if the Leader could pass this on to the Government and ask for detail, not just on whether Ireland will recognise the referendum result but on what Ireland intends to do to address this danger at the heart of Europe of disintegration and a loss of faith in democracy and in Europe's principles of solidarity.