Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too want to be associated with the sympathies for our friend and colleague, Councillor Damien O'Reilly. I would have known Damien from his time in Ógra Fhianna Fáil. He was part of the Mary Wallace team back in the day and he would have canvassed for me long ago, when I ran for the national executive of Fianna Fáil in 2007 and 2010 at the Ard Fheis. I would have known him and I would have soldiered alongside Damien for many years. He was a good friend and if you did not hear from Damien on the telephone twice per week, you knew that something was not happening. I will miss him greatly and many of my colleagues in Meath will miss him equally greatly. My sympathies go to his mother; his fiancée; Carly; and Kyle.

I am calling for a debate with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, on the issue of crime, An Garda Síochána and national security. This month saw a 99% vote by rank-and-file gardaí to express no confidence in Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, with record turnout, over the ending of the pandemic-related emergency Garda roster from 6 November. Off the coast of Wexford, gardaí are investigating the possibility of millions of euro of cocaine bobbing around the Irish Sea. Our courts have heard that two weeks ago, a German tourist was waiting patiently outside the departure lounge at Terminal 1 in Dublin Airport when 51-year-old Kasonga Mbuyi walked up to him, stated "I am going to kill you", and began stabbing him in the side.

We learned this week that the Garda security services are monitoring members of an ISIS-offshoot group that is active in Ireland and is causing growing concern across Europe over its violent intent. In 2017 a deradicalised Irish Muslim woman stated to the Irish Independentthat Ireland is, "viewed as a 'soft touch' by UK radicals - who easily travel between the.. [UK and Ireland] via the North because they do not have to show any papers." She further said, "such radicals "laugh" at Ireland because they see us as being "backward and behind the times" in... [our] assessment of the threat of radical Islam."