Tributes paid in Dáil to Orlando shooting victims

The Tricolour was flown at half-mast over Leinster House yesterday as a mark of respect to the victims of the shooting in Orlando, Florida. Tributes were paid in the Dáil to the victims of the largest mass shooting in US history, in which 49 people were killed and 53 injured.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he had sent a letter to US president Barack Obama on behalf of the Irish people "indicating our solidarity with the American people and government".

Condemning the attack Mr Kenny said: “That it occurred in the Pulse nightclub, a meeting place for the LGBT community, sends its own particular cowardly statement”.

He pledged to Labour leader Brendan Howlin the Government would follow through on issues relevant to the LGBT community.

Mr Howlin said it was time to “move with absolute determination” to implement a national LGBT strategy to tackle hate crimes and workplace discrimination, to meet the needs of older LGBT people and to continue to reform the education system to stamp out discrimination at all levels”.

He said the appalling crimes in Orlando “serve as a stark reminder to us all of the need to maintain a relentless focus on building equality for all people”.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin described the shooting as an assault on the LGBT community in the US and globally. "It represented a fundamental attack on the essence of our liberal, free democratic society and the immense destruction that can be wreaked by access to weaponry." Expressing the sympathy and solidarity of Sinn Féin, leader Gerry Adams said the attack was "another painful and harrowing reminder of the struggle for gay, lesbian and transgender equality the world over, and the need for all of us to work towards that aim".