Yesterday morning's news of an attack on Mr. Kevin Lunney should stop all of us in our tracks. We read in this morning's newspapers the details of the attack and the injuries suffered by Mr. Lunney, and they are absolutely appalling. It is the type of attack we thought had ended on this island. Mr. Lunney was kidnapped by four masked men, thrown into the boot of a car and driven away from his family home to an isolated spot where he was aggressively and savagely assaulted. As a consequence he is enduring life-changing injuries. I am sure everybody will join me in wishing him and his family well during this very difficult time. I hope everybody in the House joins me in saying there is no room on this island for that kind of attack and for somebody to be treated in that manner.

It is worrying that there has been a pattern of attacks on both people and property over a number of years that culminated in this attack on Tuesday evening. Today, the chairman of Quinn Industrial Holdings has stated he is "frustrated and angry" more had not been done to protect Mr. Lunney. There have been a series of attacks on property and people and there appears to be complacency in dealing with the matter and pursuing those who are responsible.

What has the Government done in the 48 hours since the attack to ensure extra Garda resources will be made available and that it can co-operate with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI, so that, once and for all, there can be a strong policing response that will send a message that we will take no nonsense? What kind of engagement has there been with executives from Quinn Industrial Holdings to assure them that the Government understands the pressure they are under and it will not stand for this kind of behaviour? Will extra resources be made available? My colleague, Councillor John Paul Feeley, suggested a specialised unit from the Garda Síochána and the PSNI to root out the problem once and for all. I know the Tánaiste will join me, as I hope everybody will, in condemning the attack. It is worrying that a complacency in policing has led to the attack. Once and for all we must drive out that complacency.

I thank Deputy Calleary for raising the matter. I am glad he has done so because it gives me an opportunity to express support and sympathy for the Lunney family and Mr. Lunney, in particular. This was a shocking incident and many people today are talking about it, as they were yesterday. A completely innocent person coming home from work had his car rammed before being brutally pulled from the vehicle by a gang of masked men and taken across the Border and beaten in a way that will potentially leave life-changing injuries, both mental and physical. He was left in a ditch. It is shocking and the response needs to be very robust from both the PSNI and An Garda Síochána, and it will be. We cannot allow this kind of brutal intimidation, which is a reminder of the kind of gangland paramilitary-style punishment beatings of the past. I do not say that lightly. These are a way of intimidating people for whatever reason who are working in the series of companies that Mr. Lunney works with.

I hope Deputies will appreciate I am somewhat limited in what I can say about this awful incident, given it is now subject to a significant investigation by both the PSNI and An Garda Síochána. However, I join the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice and Equality in condemning in the strongest possible terms the attack that took place. This was an act of cowards in many ways who have no regard for the rule of law on either side of the Border. I understand both the PSNI and An Garda Síochána are conducting a major inquiry into the incident and are determined to find those responsible and bring them to justice.

Let me be clear that no stone will be left unturned by An Garda Síochána or the PSNI and both police services will relentlessly pursue these individuals. I wish them well in their inquiries and encourage anybody with information on this matter to come forward to the Garda or the PSNI as quickly as possible. I understand the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has requested that the Garda Commissioner keep him personally updated on progress in this investigation. I have had responsibility for relationships with Northern Ireland for the past two years and I can confidently say the relationship between the PSNI and An Garda Síochána is probably stronger now than it has ever been. This is a case on which they will work very closely to try to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible.

With respect to broader Garda resources, Garda strength in the northern region now stands at approximately 1,500, which is an increase of 150 since the end of 2017. It is also worth mentioning that there will be an armed support unit in Cavan, and armed support units have now been established by the Garda Commissioner in all regions to provide an armed response capacity on a regional basis to support and supplement the national emergency response team. There continues to be a Garda focus in the Border counties and this incident is a reminder of why that is necessary.

I welcome the Tánaiste's condemnation of the incident and I agree with his language. The difficulty is that this is the culmination of a number of attacks that have gone on for two years, including a previous attack on Mr. Lunney when he had his nose broken. Another executive had boiling water thrown in his face. As I said, there seems to be complacency in seeing through the investigations and people are getting away with these attacks. I welcome the Tánaiste's indication there will be a massive investigation but the Government must send a signal of confidence to the business and investment communities that this kind of thing will be pursued and people will follow through on the investigations. It is a challenging area in which to do business, as Deputies Brendan Smith and Niamh Smyth have continuously highlighted. Unless and until somebody is brought before the courts for this wave of attacks, the perception that people are getting away with this will go on. We must draw a line under this.

I want the Tánaiste to give an assurance today that every possible resource will be made available and every possible political support will be provided, not just from the Government but from every party inside and outside this Chamber. This kind of act cannot continue and somebody must face justice for what happened on Tuesday night.

It is true that Quinn Industrial Holdings has been in ongoing contact with An Garda Síochána and the PSNI in the context of threats that have been made, violent intimidation and acts that have happened. This is not the first instance but it is by far the most serious.

Both the PSNI and An Garda Síochána will attach the highest priority to this case. There is an obligation on the communities living in the area. Many people know who carried out these acts and who is behind the brutality, intimidation and total lawlessness of what happened. Those people need to come forward and help the PSNI and An Garda Síochána in the investigations they will conduct and I strongly encourage them to do that. This is not what people living in Border counties want or will accept and they need to work with the PSNI and An Garda Síochána to stamp it out and respond to an event that, quite frankly, could have resulted in a man's death. It was a brutal assault that is going to have a considerable impact on both Mr. Lunney and his family. It needs a quick response from the policing and judicial sectors.

I will repeat what I said yesterday. Sinn Féin condemns the vicious and abhorrent attack on Mr. Kevin Lunney, who was just doing his job and has been a part of creating employment for many people in the Border community. I echo the words of the Tánaiste that there is no justification for anybody to shield or cover those who are behind this attack - and, indeed, many other attacks - on individuals and properties related to Quinn Industrial Holdings. I encourage those with any information, regardless of how insignificant they think it is, to bring it to the relevant authority. This needs to be stamped out quickly.

I want to focus on the fact that thousands of school secretaries across the country will go on strike tomorrow and will begin an indefinite work-to-rule action until their modest demands are met. This follows a breakdown in talks yesterday between their union, Fórsa, and the Department of Education and Skills. I am sure the Tánaiste will agree that the staff are invaluable members of our school communities who often go beyond their job requirements to meet the needs of parents and pupils. They work on the front line and they are the first port of call for parents and students. Our schools simply would not function without them.

Our teachers would agree that these staff are underpaid and undervalued by the Department. School secretaries have my full support and that of Sinn Féin in their dispute and claim.

At the heart of the matter is a dispute that centres on the fact that the majority of school secretaries, just over 3,000 of them, receive as little as €13,000 per year. They also have irregular and short-term contracts with no pay during summer holidays, school breaks or at Christmas time. It is beyond doubt that these secretaries receive low pay with little security.

This is only compounded by the inequality within the system because, on one hand, a few hundred school secretaries are paid directly by the Department of Education and Skills with starting salaries of €24,000 and, on the other hand, 90% of them are not. Those who are not receive as little as €13,000 per year.

The importance of these staff will become clear tomorrow when they begin their strike at the start of the school day because their schools cannot function without them. They are integral to the education system that needs them and, in that way, they are public servants who provide a service to our children and parents. That cannot be disputed and is why Sinn Féin believes their claim is justified. They should be employed as public servants with the same contractual security as their colleagues.

The Department of Education and Skills has failed to seriously engage with staff and union representatives in order to resolve this dispute. The relevant Minister was made aware as far back as May of this year of the pay claim, the job insecurity and the two-tier pay structure but he has dragged his heels in reaching an agreement. I am sure the Minister will claim that the specific responsibility for the employment, pay and working conditions of these staff rests with the schools through the capitation grants they receive and not with his Department. Any of us in this House with children of school going age know that the capitation grants that are supposed to cover heating, lighting, insurance and teaching materials simply do not cut it.

We need real action. We need for these employees to be valued. What will this Government do to avert further action and recognise the work and value of school secretaries?