Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Feighan for sharing time with me. We have to recognise at the outset that Catalonia has long had a distinctive culture, history, and social, economic and geographical conditions. It is a distinct region and its autonomy has been recognised in the past, in 1979 for example, though subsequent rulings of the constitutional court have diluted that somewhat resulting in later difficulties.

The Spanish Government's reaction to the referendum is within the law as laid down by the Spanish constitutional court. The point needs to be made, however, that it has been overly heavy-handed in its approach. The police overreacted considerably to the referendum, ultimately injuring 900 people.

The second point that needs to be made is that the representatives of the Catalan local administration must act within the law. The proper Government reaction would be to take a more reasonable approach and enter into dialogue with the Catalan representatives. The onus is on the Catalan politicians, meanwhile, to abstain from illegal activity. I hope that, within the auspices of the European Union and through the Members of the Spanish Parliament, a process of mediation can arise and produce a settlement that preserves a level of autonomy and self-government in Catalonia while still maintaining the overall integrity of Spain.