David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I call for a debate on freedom of speech. I spoke at the weekend at the James Fintan Lalor Autumn School in Laois. Also speaking at that event was Mr. Kevin Myers, a distinguished and courageous war correspondent who led the fight for the recognition of the service given by Irish soldiers in the First World War.I disagree with virtually every word he has written and on one occasion he devoted an entire column to saying what an absolute blackguard I was, but I stand for freedom of speech. In an article in The Sunday Timesrecently, he wrote:

I note that two of the best-paid women presenters in the BBC - Claudia Winkleman and , with whose, no doubt, sterling work I am tragically unacquainted - are Jewish. Good for them. Jews are not generally noted for their insistence on selling their talent for the lowest possible price...

It was stupid and obnoxious but it was read by two people in Dublin, who passed it, and two people in London who also passed it. He has since apologised for it and is a strong supporter of the State of Israel.

The chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, Maurice Cohen, said Kevin Myers was not anti-Semitic but had inadvertently stumbled into an anti-Semitic joke. He said that branding him as an anti-Semite or a holocaust denier was an absolute distortion of the facts. However, self-appointed people decided he was to be hounded so he lost his job and is unemployable in journalism. This is absolutely shocking. He put on the record that he was an agent provocateurof the journalistic world and deliberately taunted and provoked people, believing that is what he is there for.

Kevin Myers also wrote an article in which he described the Traveller community as dirty, abusive, drunken and creating a mess everywhere, but in the second paragraph said, “You didn’t like that, did you?" This is what Friedrich Engels wrote in the 19th century about the Irish. He went on to say this was, of course, for us to inquire into. However, this second paragraph was never used and that is utterly shocking. He has said some ridiculous things. He has been described as a holocaust denier but he has said that millions of people were killed by the evil Nazis. He just nitpicked on the word. We really need a debate on the issue.

I also wish to raise the situation of George Hook. George Hook is a crusty old devil who said:

But when you then look deeper into the story you have to ask certain questions. Why does a girl who just meets a fella in a bar go back to a hotel room? She’s only just barely met him, she has no idea of his health conditions, she has no idea who he is, she has no idea of what dangers he might pose, but modern day social activity means that she goes back with him, then is surprised when someone comes into the room and rapes her. Should she be raped? Of course she shouldn’t. Is she entitled to say no? Absolutely. Is the guy who came in a scumbag? Certainly. Should he go to jail? Of course. All those things. But is there no blame now to the person who puts themselves in danger?

He asked a question. If one is not allowed to ask a question in this country, where are we? If there is a deliberate silencing of contrarian voices in this country, with whom I do not agree, we will be left with nothing but a single, monotonous, self-righteous voice.