I am a proud Dubliner. I was born and bred in this city. I raised my family here. This is a city of positivity, a vibrant city full of decent, hard-working people who believe in community. Like all Dubliners, I am heartbroken by what happened in Dublin last Thursday. How in the name of God did we come to this? Three young children and their carer were stabbed outside their school in broad daylight. It is every parent’s worst nightmare. Our hearts go out to those children, their parents and their families, especially the little five-year-old child fighting for her life.

As those poor children were being taken to hospital, a mob of thugs set about destruction and mayhem. They were allowed to take control of Dublin city centre. The Minister’s assertion that nobody saw this coming is a water-weak defence. Everybody saw it coming for months. When the news broke that children had been stabbed, people held their breath for even a hint that the perpetrator might not be Irish. They knew this would be exploited by those who seek to sow hate, division and mayhem.

Very soon after the attack, organised agitators were on the scene, working their phones and starting to plan the havoc that unfolded. It was obvious to everyone on the ground that this orchestration was happening. In fact, a member of Mary Lou McDonald’s team brought it to the attention of gardaí at the scene. People could see them organising through social media. At 2.04 p.m., I messaged my sister-in-law, who works in the Rotunda, to warn her. I was in Dublin. I was here in Leinster House and I could see this escalating. How did the Minister not see and feel what was coming?

Incredibly, the only people who did not see this coming were the Minister, her Government colleagues and the Garda Commissioner. We needed a decisive, early and quick public order policing intervention to contain the trouble and nip it in the bud. That is not what we got. Spokespeople for the GRA say that there was no plan, no central instruction was given to gardaí and front-line gardaí showed up to help because of WhatsApp messages sent to each other. This was an unprecedented and catastrophic failure of leadership on the part of the Minister and Commissioner Harris.

The public were placed in the way of danger. Ordinary workers, emergency responders and front-line gardaí were isolated, exposed and set upon. The Minister lost control of Dublin city centre. It was mob rule, yet she says that the Garda had the resources needed to respond quickly and with force. Denial. The Minister refuses to accept that control of the city centre was lost. Delusion. She says that the streets of Dublin city centre are safe. Make believe. Tell that to the children, parents and staff at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire. Yesterday, when those children came out of school, they were greeted with the sight of an intoxicated stranger who had urinated on himself, and there was not a single garda around six days after these little children were traumatised by the brutal stabbing of three of their classmates and their carer. Just think of the fear this created for those children and their parents. What happened to those children was not normal. Nobody expects a garda to be posted at the door. What they do expect is visible, strong and active community policing in the vicinity of the school.

I thank the Deputy, but her time is up.

They did not get that. Not a single lesson has been learned because the Minister is not listening. In any other walk of life or organisation, the person presiding over such a colossal failure would be sacked.

Time is up, please.

Clearly, the Minister is not the person to restore people's confidence in public safety. Her position is untenable. You should resign.

Hear, hear.

I wish to say at the outset that my thoughts are still very much with the young girl and with her carer, both of whom are critically ill in hospital. What happened to those children and that school is an unimaginable tragedy. My thoughts are with them, their families, the school and the wider community.

What we saw unfold after that appalling tragedy was a small group of people, who do not represent me or the vast majority of people in this country, who took that tragedy and used it to sow division and hatred, spread fear in this city and to loot and riot. They are thugs. Those responsible for inciting that hatred and violence, for attacking members of An Garda Síochána and for setting buses on fire will be held responsible and will be brought to justice.

Hear, hear.

We also saw the largest mobilisation of our public order units, with more than 400 members of An Garda Síochána coming together to respond to these thugs. In a very short space of time, we saw these thugs being contained into a small part of our city centre. What we saw was devastating and not one of us ever imagined that we would witness what we witnessed, but the thugs were contained by gardaí. We saw other teams of gardaí protecting those who were trapped in their businesses and could not leave their workplaces. We saw gardaí protecting minority groups and those in international protection centres.

We saw the largest response and mobilisation of An Garda Síochána in response to this horrific event. We also saw members coming from across the country. I have a report from the Garda Commissioner outlining what happened and how he and his team responded. As part of that response, yes, it was about sending messages to people as quickly as possible. Part of that plan does include WhatsApp. How does one contact someone as quickly as possible? We also saw gardaí getting into their cars because they wanted to support their colleagues. The two are not mutually exclusive. We saw the best of An Garda Síochána coming together to protect our city and those in it, and we owe them a debt of gratitude.

Hear, hear.

Of course there will be lessons learned, and there should be, from a catastrophic event of this size, and the Garda and we as a country will be the better for it.

Regarding the school and those children, I have been in contact with the principal numerous times. I have been in contact with the Garda – not just the Commissioner, but local gardaí at Store Street. I assure colleagues that, above all, every resource that the parents and staff at that school require will be made available to them. Gardaí are there and will be stationed there. It is not for me, Deputy O’Reilly or anyone else in the House to decide how policing should operate, but gardaí are working with and engaging with the school to ensure that whatever need it had and support it requires is made available to it. No matter what we discuss in the Chamber, they are the most important people in all of this at the end of the day.

The Minister is not, and cannot be, the person to provide the leadership necessary to resolve these issues because she will not even acknowledge that control was lost of Dublin city centre for several hours. She spoke about what we will not forget. We will not forget the sight of a lone garda on O’Connell Street beset on all sides and terrified. We will not forget that the GRA said there was no plan.

Sinn Féin knows all about terror.

We will not forget that the Minister, who is supposed to provide leadership, does not even seem to understand the scale of the problem.

This picture shows what greeted those children six days after the traumatic and horrific event that happened to three of their classmates and one of their staff members. The school is terrified and traumatised. The school community wants answers and leadership, and it is getting neither from the Minister. This picture represents what Dublin city feels like to Dubliners on the Minister’s watch. You should resign.

We all have a role to be responsible in the House. The Deputy should consider that before she starts waving pictures around.

Hear, hear.

No one is identifiable in the picture. The situation is very clear.

The Deputy has said a lot of things. Her party has said a lot of things.

No one is identifiable in it.

A vulnerable person.

Disgraceful.

The Deputy's leader has said a lot of things since last Thursday. Not a single solution, not a single proposal and not a single thing of benefit has come out of Sinn Féin's mouth since last Thursday.

We published those proposals months ago.

The Minister without interruption.

Instead, Sinn Féin has used a tragic situation to sow division, to point score and to create instability. I thought for a second last week, when I rang all of the Dublin Central Deputies, for a split second, that we would be united in our determination to face down these absolute thugs, who wreaked havoc in our city centre for a period of time.

Instead, less than 24 hours later, Deputy O'Reilly's leader was standing on the edge of a criminal scene calling for heads.

The Minister lost control of Dublin city.

When I spoke to the Garda Commissioner and Garda members last week, I did so to offer my support. When the Deputy's leader rang the Garda Commissioner, it was to call for his head. When people in this country want stability, all Sinn Féin is interested in is providing instability.

Stability.

That is the difference between the Government and the Deputy's party.

That is all the Minister can say.