Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My party wants to be fully associated with the comments of Senator Conway on Michael Ryan.

On Brexit, my personal view is that the only solution is a general election in Britain. The level of incompetence displayed by the Tories brings the matter to a height beyond even our wildest imagination. Last weekend I travelled to Britain to speak at a conference on combating the far right. It was ironic that I did not have to travel to London to combat it because as I was leaving its supporters surrounded me at Shannon Airport where at least a couple of hundred US soldiers were on their way to war zones in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Deputy Clare Daly has recently asked questions in the Dáil of several Ministers and we have seen considerable leeway being give in aeroplanes carrying armaments. It is a shocking state of affairs. The Leader will be aware that I have been raising the matter for the best part of three years and that my request has been simple at all times, namely, that we have a specific debate on the use of Shannon Airport because it represents a shameful abuse of our neutrality. We cannot escape our role in the wars of aggression and horror, including in Yemen, which we actively support by allowing the US military to use Shannon Airport. It is time for the silence on the use of Shannon Airport to end. If one thinks it is right for us to support these horrific wars, one should stand up and say so. However, there is silence, which is not good enough. Therefore, I ask for a debate on the issue because it is time for the use of Shannon Airport to stop. Our civilian airport must be given back. I have been asking for a debate on the issue for a long time and ask the Leader to respect my request by scheduling a debate in order that we can discuss the topic and hear what everyone on all sides has to say about it.