Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is Pride month, as we all know. Dublin Pride will take place on Saturday, 29 June. We have come so far as a country in acknowledging the special nature of people who have pride in their sexuality and are showing that to us. We have acknowledged their right to equal access to marriage and other things in this country. It feels like we have come so far and yet we also know there are people in this country who do not acknowledge or accept it. We see reports far too regularly of people being attacked because of their sexuality or being abused on the street. These are ordinary people walking down the street holding hands getting verbal abuse from people who do not seem to understand they are perfectly entitled to do that. They are normal members of society and they are as entitled to do so as is any heterosexual couple.

I think of people like Declan Flynn, who was murdered in Fairview, of people like Michael Snee and Aidan Moffitt. I think of Marcin Malinowski, who is an engineer who was beaten senseless as he cycled on his way home simply because the people who attacked him wanted to "kill the faggot". Those people are still out there.

Yesterday, I received a report from Jamie Robertson who was in the Phoenix Park with two of his friends. They were chased down, or, as he said, "hunted" by six men with knives. Jamie and his friends got away from their pursuers but God knows what would have happened if they had not. Apparently, the Phoenix Park is not safe for people. These guys were just walking through the park and were chased by six men. What on earth is going on that this still happens in Ireland in 2024 when every right thinking member of society recognised the normality of sexual relationships between people of the same gender or same sex? What is going on that we are not tackling this? What is going on that we do not have gardaí in the park? I ask because when the three friends went to the gardaí about it, they were told there was no CCTV and they could not identify the crowd. That is not good enough. There needs to be patrols in the Phoenix Park to protect people. If needs be, there needs to be further education for the park rangers or other Garda presence in Phoenix Park to protect people because attacks are absolutely unacceptable, and particularly in this month. We should have a debate on the steps we need to take to protect everyone, equally.