Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would never abuse the privilege of this House. It may have come to some people's notice that it is a year today since the election of Donald Trump. His anti-immigrant, anti-refugee and anti-asylum seeker rhetoric has gone around the world since then. Given that we listened closely to the Brexit debate and have witnessed what has happened across Europe where the Austrian Parliament is, unfortunately, welcoming people of a very right-wing persuasion and where the people almost elected a far-right President, and where one third of the electorate in France voted for a representative of the National Front, we can see that far-right, anti-immigrant rhetoric and sentiment are rife across Europe and in the US. Given our history, this country has a responsibility to stand for something better and more profound and decent. This is exactly what this Bill is.