People Before Profit is demanding that the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, explain why he said that the extreme right and left in Irish politics are responsible for an increase in hate speech and intolerance in Ireland.
The Ceann Comhairle made the comment yesterday at a meeting of the European Jewish Association.
Today, deputy Richard Boyd Barrett said left-wing parties have steadfastly opposed racism and Mr Ó Fearghaíl needs to outline today exactly what he was talking about.
Deputy Paul Murphy said it was a tried and tested tactic to accuse those of the left of anti-semitism in order to silence them.
He said there was not a single comment made by his party which could be construed as anti-semitic, and it is absolutely wrong for anyone to try and infer that.
Mr Ó Fearghaíl also told the meeting that Hamas is an “evil organisation” which – along with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah – are a “rotten evil plague on humanity and they must be brought to an end”.
He added that an increase in hate speech and intolerance in Ireland recently, and contended that responsibility for this lay “not just with the extreme right, but the left also”.
In a question and answer session, the Ceann Comhairle said this was connected to both the “crisis in Gaza” but also a reaction to “a massive influx of immigrants into our country”.
Mr Ó Fearghaíl told the meeting: “72 million people worldwide claim Irish ancestry. So we are the last nation on earth to be unwelcoming to the immigrants.
“But there are elements – unsavory elements, elements that promote hate, and dissension.”
On the war in Gaza, Mr Ó Fearghaíl told the audience that he hoped all parties would focus exclusively on securing peace as otherwise the already catastrophic situation would get immeasurably worse.
The focus of the conference was on combatting anti-semitism and the Ceann Comhairle said that in the past there had been “very little anti-semitism experienced” by Ireland’s small Jewish community.
“Ireland has been proud to support the work, internationally and nationally, of ensuring remembrance of the Holocaust and of discouraging denial and distortion,” he said.
Asked about “anti-Zionism” in Ireland, Mr Ó Fearghaíl said: “We fully recognise and accept Israel but we support a two-state solution.”
