Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Senator Hackett waxed eloquently about the towns in the midlands on The Irish Timesshortlist of best places to live. I remind Senators that Gorey is also on that list. However, I will let its reputation speak for itself.

During the summer, we experienced the passion and joy of the Olympics. On behalf of the House, I congratulate all our Olympians and Paralympians on their achievements and how proudly they represented us. The House should write to the Olympic Council of Ireland to express that view.

It is also appropriate for the House to remember the recent passing of Mrs. Pat Hume, a woman who made an enormous, and quiet, contribution to the peace process and to building collaboration and co-operation between all traditions on this island.

I wish to raise what we saw at the weekend, which was a protest by a fringe element outside the home of the Tánaiste's partner. It included a lot of homophobic abuse addressed to the Tánaiste. This follows a protest in recent months outside the home of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. We are fortunate in this country to have access to politicians, not just Deputies and Senators but also Ministers, right up to the office of Taoiseach. All office holders have always been accessible, and we have always respected the right to peaceful protest. However, in recent times we have seen fringe groups on the far right and sometimes on the far left resort to violent tactics and now they are engaging in protests outside private homes. Some of this is driven by social media, which I hope we will address in the context of the online safety and media regulation Bill. However, I believe we in this House must stand up for politics and talk about how our office holders can be protected in their home environment. We must send out a strong and clear message that politicians' private homes are off limits.