Senator Shane Ross

Following yesterday’s historic agreement in Belfast, tribute must be paid to the Taoiseach for his incredible achievement. Further, we should not forget former Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, one of the great unsung heroes of this agreement who took the issue by the scruff of the neck and had the nerve to do things other politicians did not.

It may be that he was not burdened by ideology, in the sense that many in all parties throughout this island are burdened. He had incredible courage and while his language of taking risks for peace was to some extent rhetorical, it was also true. Today, it is as much his creation as anybody’s.

Tribute must be paid to people here and in Northern Ireland following the extraordinary agreement reached yesterday between the two largest parties. However, one of the sad results of yesterday’s agreement is that many of the moderates have been sidelined. Whereas the extremists may have been moderated, those who have been responsible for the process have found that their parties have been marginalised.
Continue reading ‘Extremists Moderated; Moderates Marginalised’

I wish to pay tribute to Archbishop Eames who has announced his plans to retire. It must be immensely frustrating to be a clergyman in Northern Ireland where the only weapons one possesses are words to be used against the weapons of action used by politicians and the real weapons used by paramilitaries. Archbishop Eames wielded the weaponry of words very well.

He consistently preached the gospel of peace and practised ecumenism in that he consistently joined with other denominations in an attempt to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Continue reading ‘Archbishop Robin Eames is an Unsung Hero of the Battle against Paramilitarism’

Reacting to comments by Senator Mary White in the wake of ETA’s ceasefire, I told the Seanad that apologies for terrorism from Government benches should not be tolerated.

I am concerned about the apologies for terrorism emanating from the Government benches. If Senator White wants to use the Seanad to praise the president of Sinn Féin and his 14 years striving for peace, she should join that party. Continue reading ‘Apologies for Terrorism from Government should not be Tolerated’

This country’s attitudes to Northern Ireland have moved on in the most encouraging way. The Leader [of the Seanad, Mary O’Rourke] stated that the Taoiseach’s great flexibility and the fact that he does not carry any baggage are assets. I endorse that view. We can sit back and criticise the Taoiseach for many things. However, on the issue of Northern Ireland he has a permanent place in the history of Ireland.

The reality is that whatever the setbacks, the situation improves by the day and the great tolerance the relative sides have of each other has improved immensely. Continue reading ‘There are Political Reasons for the Government Ignoring the Extent of Criminality’

In the Seanad, I called for a debate on Northern Ireland. The problem of Northern Ireland is developing into a problem of crime. Out of the recent welcome outbreak of peace has sprung an incredible amount of cross-Border racketeering, money laundering and co-operation among the former criminals who have committed violent acts and who have diverted their energy into criminal activities of a different sort.

The Seanad should recognise the scale of that and not brush it under the carpet. I refer to pubs, hotels, bookmakers’ shops, cash businesses — diesel, springing up all over Ireland on both sides of the Border. If we ignore this we do so at our peril. I hope there is no consent or turning of a blind eye to such activities among officials of the Irish establishment.