Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, would like to be associated with the tributes to Austin Currie. He is a huge loss to his wife, Annita, to our friend and colleague, Senator Emer Currie, and to her siblings. Austin Currie is also a huge loss to the island of Ireland. We saw and know what he did when he was a Minister of State and representative of Dublin West. He worked tirelessly for the people south of the Border but what he did in the North was inspirational. In the darkest days of violence and when his own family were violently attacked on many occasions, he never once contemplated picking up a gun or engaging in violence. That is real leadership. Those are the types of people who I respect in Northern Ireland. Mr. Currie was a leader. Never did he contemplate violence. I know he would abhor anyone justifying the 30 years of violence we had in this country. That is his legacy and we should all be proud of it.

On another issue, I notice there is going to be legislation for e-scooters in this country. I have been at traffic lights when e-scooters have flown past me. As somebody with impaired vision, it is quite frightening, as it is for older people and others with impairments and disabilities, to see e-scooters flying by. I do not think the Houses of the Oireachtas should pass any legislation allowing the use of e-scooters until we are completely satisfied that protection measures are in place for the vulnerable people who also have a right to use the roads. We must remember that the blind and visually-impaired community in particular are the original greens. They use public transport and walk to get from A to B. We should be leaders in this country in terms of e-scooters. We should not legislate for them or legalise them until protections are in place.