Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Beannachtaí na Féile Bríde oraibh ar fad. It is always great to have a bank holiday but particularly one in celebration of a woman. Whether you believe in St. Brigid or goddess Brigid or a combination of both, her history, lore and mythology are very important to many people.

I wish to reflect on a matter that has been talked about in both Houses which is what is happening in many of our communities regarding refugees and migrants. Some really serious things are happening, ranging from people expressing disquiet, annoyance or concerns, all the way to, as was reported in The Irish Times,an attack on a migrant's camp in Ashtown where some really violent scenes were described. In my own area in Dublin North-West, there have been some really aggravated displays. I am going to call some of it organised thuggery quite frankly. People have come out with hammers and hurls and whatever else they are having themselves and it is quite simply organised thuggery. That is all happening in the milieu of a vacuum around this situation, whether that be from a Government or another level. I feel this is running away from us and the situation in some areas is already out of control. We in the Labour Party had a public meeting on Monday night in Drogheda which was invaded by people who wanted to protest against refugees and migrants. An Garda Síochána was there and it was quite a het up event. I am sure it is not going to be the first of this kind of event. We are in a situation where public representatives and local groups have concerns that they cannot organise because people are coming in to protest against refugees and migrants. There also has been a weaponising of events. We have seen a fairly lively smearing of a reporter and a photographer who reported the Ashtown incident; the online abuse of whom is absolutely vile and beneath contempt and I stand with the National Union of Journalists, NUJ, and its statement on that. I sometimes wonder is it because one of the journalists involved was the one who broke the story of Savita Halappanavar and there is still a harbouring of annoyance 11 years on at her for doing that. I digress but there is an enormous amount of misinformation happening online at the moment. People are believing some things that seem almost fantastical to others and yet they are being shared around and believed fully.My colleague, Senator Sherlock, has talked about the role of the social media giants and their responsibility. We have seen and heard the benefits they have sometimes in spreading these things online. A debate about this is not necessarily the right thing but it is important the Government gets a hold of this. There is a vacuum of information and a plethora of misinformation. If we do not get a grip on what is going on, I fear someone will end up losing their life.