Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The letter from America was part of the culture of the 1960s in most, if not all, households. We need to be very careful. The rise of the right and of racist language is worrying, as is the pointing at others and whipping up of emotions. People who are dispossessed and feel they do not have a stake can react to this. Legislators and this institution should not allow such language to go unchecked. All Senators will agree that our words are very important and we need to be measured when talking about difficulties. Facts are very important as well and Members should not make such sweeping statements.

Yesterday, I referred to Moneypoint and the Derrybrien wind farm issue. Today, we learned that the discharge of raw sewage into our waters presents a serious risk to the environment and public health. I commend RTÉ, our beleaguered and hard-pressed public broadcaster, on its programmes and activities this week and on devoting entire evenings to young and old alike on the issue of climate change.