Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I echo the statements of Senator Flynn with regard to the people of Ballyfermot, although I stand in solidarity with An Garda Síochána and particularly with the two gardaí who went out to work expecting to come home safely but did not.That should not happen under any circumstances. There is also a community at the heart of this which is full of very good people who have a passion, care and love for each other and I am proud to say some of them are within my own family. I note for the House that at this moment the community in Ballyfermot is gathered around the Garda station there, supporting An Garda Síochána and demonstrating its abhorrence of the actions of that tiny minority, which is stigmatising the whole community there and in Cherry Orchard. I also welcome that on Thursday - this is not anything arising out of this week but has been long-planned and worked on over the past number of weeks by the Minister, Deputy McEntee - the Minister will be out in the community of Cherry Orchard discussing the progress that is being made on plans there to have an inter-agency and interdepartmental approach to solving some of the issues and challenges of that community.

I support my colleague, Senator Buttimer. I also note that we need a debate on FIFA and the whole abhorrent decision to have the World Cup in Qatar. Anyone who did the slightest piece of research would have known that that was a country which was going to completely stand apart when it came to the treatment of people and would have no sense of human rights whatsoever. The stories coming out of the country over the past number of years have been horrific and it is modern-day slavery. Those stadia, which people are sitting in, are built with the blood of migrants to that country. It is appalling to support this World Cup in any way, shape or form.

Yesterday the Iranian team did not sing its national anthem at 1 p.m. At 4.30 p.m. we all received a briefing document from the Iranian Embassy in our inboxes, which was 21 pages of propaganda, and, frankly, lies, claiming things are not the way they are, that there was no violence in the deaths that occurred, and that what we see and know is going on is not actually going on at all. I want to completely condemn the Iranian Embassy for having the audacity to send a such a document in. I sent the embassy back an email making my feelings known but it is a completely abhorrent thing for it to do, and for it to think that it might get away with such propaganda on such a large scale.