Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Following from Senator Higgins's remarks, we in this House must send a strong message to the Government of Spain that the actions of its police force last weekend were entirely unacceptable in a modern European democracy or indeed in any democracy entitled to bear that name. Regardless of where one stands on the question of Catalan independence, I acknowledge there will be a variety of views in these Houses in that regard, the brutal actions of the Spanish police towards people expressing what they consider to be their democratic right should be abhorred by all of us who are democrats, that is, everyone in this House. I support what Senator Higgins has said. Cool heads must prevail at this point and the Government must urge both the Spanish authorities and our European Union colleagues to make whatever contribution they can to ensuring that the future of Spain as a polity is a democratic one. What we saw at the weekend was that the authoritarian forces that many in this Chamber will remember prevailing in decades past in Spain are clearly not too far from the surface, and this is an absolute tragedy.

My sympathies and those of my Labour Party colleagues go to the family members of the dozens of people murdered and the hundreds maimed while simply attending a musical event in Las Vegas a few short days ago. It is a constant source of bafflement to me and to Senator Lawless, who has more experience of living and running a business in the United States, that there is still such a huge reluctance to deal with this massive problem which occurs, unfortunately, far too often and results in the senseless taking of far too many innocent lives. While the United States likes to identify itself as a beacon of freedom and civilisation, when one looks at its attitude to gun laws one must ask if it really deserves that label if it cannot do a basic thing like controlling its gun laws to protect the lives of those who deserve the protection of the State. I ask that question advisedly.