Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It was wonderful to see people from every party, except one, stand with them when they came into the House. I regret that it was the Fine Gael Party that did not engage in support of these people. I note my colleagues from the mid-west are here. The good news is that there is another opportunity for them to do so this Friday at Ennis Circuit Court, where the latest hearing for these two fine, brave men will take place at 10.30 a.m. The men are applying for their trial to be transferred to Dublin. They cannot get a change in their bail conditions until that is agreed. What they have met to date is postponement after postponement. What the State is doing is, effectively, incarcerating these two fine men with a combined age of close to 160 in Ireland. This is being done because these men stood up and said what everyone knows to be the case, namely, that there is something terrible happening in Shannon day after day. There are US wars of aggression all across the Middle East, in Yemen, Afghanistan and Iraq and we are supporting those wars. Nobody on the other side of the Chamber has ever stood up and announced that we are doing the right thing in supporting what the US is doing at our airport because they cannot.There is no defence for what is happening in Shannon. Senators are remaining silent about the prospect of these two fine men facing Christmas without being able to go home to their families. Surely to God we can all agree that the State should allow them to go home to their families. We should all agree to recognise the wrong that has been done to them. I encourage Senators to come along to Ennis at 10.30 a.m. this Friday. In common with a number of other people, I will be there to support Ken and Tarak by standing up and saying that justice should be done for these two fine men.