Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tréaslaím le Marty Walsh atá athtofa mar mhéara ar Bhostún. Tá muintir Chonamara, na Gaillimhe agus na hÉireann an-bhródúil as an éacht atá déanta aige agus as an bhfoireann ar fad a bhí ag obair leis. I congratulate Mayor Marty Walsh of Boston whose parents both come from Connemara. He is a proud Irishman, an Irish speaker and a man of the people and he was re-elected as mayor of Boston last night. It is a fantastic achievement. The reports on the campaign indicate that one of the biggest things he did was tackle the housing crisis in Boston. This created significant employment in recent years and provided affordable and social housing for those who needed it. He also did a great deal of work with people who have drug and alcohol addiction problems. It is fantastic to see him being re-elected.

A week is a long time in politics. Shortly before the break we had a debate on Catalonia. In the intervening period, half the members of the Government of the region have been put in prison and the other half are in exile in Belgium. Before the break, we heard from most Heads of State across Europe that this is an internal issue for Spain. We cannot say any longer, however, that this is the case. The two leaders of the cultural organisations are still in prison. Even teachers who had debates in schools in respect of the events relating to the referendum are being threatened with imprisonment. This is an absolute assault on fundamental human rights, including the right to free speech. It is important that our Government reassesses its position on the issue. From Brussels, President Puigdemont denounced the fact that there is a Eurocratic elite which only obeys the member states and which has betrayed and corrupted the defence of the foundational values of Europe. For him, this elite has shown a lack of connection with what people are interested in.There is a fundamental debate happening about what the European Union stands for, and what its leaders and prime ministers stand for. The contrast between the way the judicial system in Belgium has treated President Puigdemont and the way the Spanish system has treated the Ministers who are now imprisoned is massive and we need a further debate on the continuing issues in Catalonia and how they will affect every single European state.