Addressing Minister David Stanton in the Seanad, Fine Gael Senator Gabrielle McFadden said that the believed political discourse both in Ireland and abroad was being degraded by a "variety of groups and individuals who peddle messages of division, hatred and have actually no place in Irish culture." McFadden then accused several unnamed candidates in the recent local and EU elections of running campaigns "on messages of hate and fear, designed to get attention and support for themselves irrespective of the consequences of their message to individuals, the state or indeed to society."
McFadden made a veiled reference to Gemma O'Doherty who recently tweeted a picture of school children in Longford to highlight the level of replacement migration in the town which subsequently went viral internationally:
"Indeed since the election, we have even seen a failed candidate who considers herself wiser than others, who came from the east following a chem-trail in the sky and bearing a message of cold racism and slur, telling children in the midlands that there was no place for them at the inn because their skin was a different colour. Thankfully, the good people of Longford sent her back where she came from."
"Minister, I ask you, what is being done to review and strengthen the laws on hate-crime, incitement and online hate-speech?"
In 2017, Longford residents were advised by the Joint Policing Committee that 50% of the county's residents would have a non-Irish background by 2050.
The 2016 census counted the number of Muslims in Longford at 1,100. A Judge that year ordered a mediator to be appointed as a result of a brawl inside the mosque over who should be the Imam.
Transcript: Seanad Éireann debate - Wednesday, 12 Jun 2019
Video:
0 Comments