Frances Black
Industrial and Commercial Panel · Independent · Ireland
“If we lost, however, under the European Communities Act 1973 we could simply repeal that aspect of the legislation and maintain the goods ban, so there is absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. This is the approach Spain has taken.”
“By exempting these flows from the Bill, the Government is implementing a trade ban that deliberately omits the vast majority of Irish trade. It is consciously letting large companies providing tech, IT and other service-based trade off the hook. To me, that is a tragedy.”
“It was already the legal position of the Government of Ireland that we must ban trade with settlements. Of course, nothing changed in this period in EU law either. The EU treaties are unchanged.”
“It is intended to stay like that up until such point that a full ban is agreed at EU level, which as we know may never arrive. My colleague, Senator Higgins, will speak more on this aspect later. These obligations regarding services existed long before the ICJ advisory opinion in 2024.”
“I could not do any of it without all of those people I mentioned - I hope I have not forgotten somebody. My husband who is here has also been my rock, as has my family. It is the activists but it is also the Palestinian people who we are all here for. We cannot stop this work. We have to keep going. We have to never give up.”
“I will take a minute, if that is okay. I know everybody is anxious to see the match but I feel it is imperative I thank the people I have been working with for the last eight years who have stood by me.”
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Every one of 496 lines we hold for Frances Black, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 9 of 10.
“UN General Assembly Resolution 68/235, adopted on 20 December 2013, reaffirms "the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and of the population of the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land, water and energy resources". It is essential, therefore, that the Irish Government condemn this act by Israel in international waters, illegal under international law, and demand the immediate and safe release of all Irish citizens who were illegally kidnapped and abducted by Israel. Ireland should also demand from Israel compensation for the illegal kidnapping of its citizens.”
“The flotilla boats were intercepted between 70 to 80 nautical miles from shore, well beyond Gaza's territorial sea. As we all know, the occupation of Gaza by Israel is totally illegal under international law, as reaffirmed by the ICJ in July 2024. As I have said here many times, it states: The sustained abuse by Israel of its position as an occupying Power, through annexation and an assertion of permanent control over the Occupied Palestinian Territory and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory unlawful. This illegality relates to the entirety of the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in 1967.”
“Freedom of navigation is central to the law of the sea and, as such, the flotilla is entitled to sail unimpeded in the Mediterranean Sea. Any harassment or stopping of the flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea's international waters is therefore a clear violation of international law. The participants, as we all know, were all peaceful, unarmed civilians and posed no threat to Israel. They therefore had the right to innocent passage through the territorial waters under the law of the sea. Really, what Israel is doing is piracy. It is breaking international law. The world is watching. If it were Russia, everybody would be up in arms. I cannot get my head around the fact that there is still nothing being done about what Israel is doing. Crucial to this is the actual location where Israeli forces intercepted and boarded the flotilla vessels.”
“I was thinking this morning about the people in Gaza, the starvation and the children who have lost parents and are now looking after one another. Yesterday, I saw a seven-year-old comforting a five-year-old whose parents had been lost. If this was happening in any other country, we would be up in arms and protecting those innocent victims and civilians. It must be lovely for the people of Gaza to see the flotilla coming in and the courage of the activists. I hope we get the debate. I encourage all Members of the Seanad to vote to support the amendment to the Order of Business. I am pleading with them to support the amendment. We need to show the courage of this House and that we can do this. We need to show the families of those on the flotilla that we care and have compassion.”
“It is absolutely outrageous that what happened yesterday to Irish citizens has been used as a political football and that cheap shots have been made at another party here today. What Israel is doing is beyond belief. It is committing genocide, killing children and breaking international law. The world is watching. None of the governing bodies is doing anything. Plenty are talking about it but there is no real action. What just happened here was absolutely outrageous and I hope that the constituents of the Member who said those things will call him out for his behaviour this morning. I second the amendment that Senator Ruane proposed. I pay huge respect to the human rights activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla. They are so courageous and brave and are doing what the governments should be doing.”
“I met with some of the families of the Irish citizens who are on the flotilla today and they would like to see a strong public statement coming from the Government to say this is wrong, and to say to Israel, "Enough is enough". What Israel is doing is illegal. It is breaking international law. The world is watching and nobody is doing anything. The Irish people are up in arms about it so we really serious action and no more talking. We need action and we need the Irish Government to really put pressure on Israel to stop what it is doing. We do not know if people in the flotilla are going to be killed tonight. Irish citizens could be killed tonight or arrested. We really need the Government to stand up and be strong and brave. It needs to say enough is enough and stand up to Israel.”
“The question we here as politicians have to ask ourselves is would we accept this for our children, and will we able to look them in the eyes in the years to come if we cannot obviously say we did everything in our power stop it? In the next 24 hours, that flotilla with Irish citizens will be entering a high-risk zone and will embark on the most dangerous leg of the mission to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. They are doing what governments should be doing, to be fair. So far, Spain, Italy and Turkey have sent naval ships to accompany over 40 vessels with delegations of peace activists from all around the world. It has been reported that Israel now plans to intercept vessels and that those aboard the ships who refuse to be voluntarily deported will be arrested.”
“As the Leader is probably aware, the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail in late August and has travelled for over 30 days towards Gaza to deliver lifesaving aid to Palestinians in the midst of an horrific genocide. Among the aid is baby formula and lifesaving medical care. We all know that in Gaza we are witnessing a 21st century genocide broadcast in real time. We have seen the footage of innocent children starving for the lack of food or medical care, with sunken eyes and visible rib cages, while infant formula is rotting on trucks just a few miles away. I think of my own beautiful grandchildren and every day my heart breaks at how obviously, unforgivably and criminally wrong this is.”
“I think that the Minister of State is the one who can lead on all of this. I have no doubt that she has the will, knowledge and compassion to do this. I really do know that she is very passionate about this issue and I thank her for that.”
“While there are a multitude of other areas that Senator Ruane and I would like clarity on, the final point I want to address is the creation of a dedicated Cabinet committee on drug policy, chaired by the Taoiseach. This is something that was called for by both the citizens' assembly and the joint committee. Given the seriousness of the issue in Ireland, a country that, to our shame, has among the highest incidence rates of drug-induced deaths in Europe, the creation of a Cabinet committee would send a positive message to individuals who use drugs, their families and their communities, a message that says that we acknowledge our past failures and are committed to making the transformative changes required to realise a more compassionate, humane and evidence-led approach to drug use and addiction.”
“It is hugely important that we continue to keep community at the heart of our national drugs strategy and recommit to a community development approach that sees people in the context of their own environment and experience and empowers communities to respond to drug use in an exclusively locally driven and socially informed manner. The incorporation of the principle of community development is important, but so is the resourcing that facilitates community projects doing the work that will meaningfully shift the dial. The community and voluntary sector wants to be doing this work but is heavily constrained by funding, resourcing and the bureaucratic boxes that are often required to be ticked. We need to see a meaningful resourcing of the sector so that we can see the true value of the interventions that it provides in our communities.”
“As a result, we could end up with a strategy that fails to include the valuable insights or perspectives of drug users, drug services, community development projects or their members - key partners in any successful implementation. I ask the Minister of State to say whether the stakeholders and the national oversight committee will have sign-off on the new strategy before it is published. Please explain what that process might look like. The community drugs sector previously had to advocate very strongly for the retention of community as a core pillar in the national drugs strategy.”
“Significant concern has been expressed by the community drugs sector about the role that it played in the evaluation of the expiring strategy and its ability to influence the development of a new one. While we appreciate that it might not have been the explicit intention of the Department, the sense from many community drugs projects that have engaged with us is that they have been sidelined in the process. The national oversight committee has been engaged by the Department, but it seems there is a lack of clarity about the nature of the involvement. Additionally, there is little clarity about whether consultation has taken place with people who have lived experience of drug use in designing the new strategy.”
“I hope that the Minister of State will be in a position to provide the House with some clarity today about discussions that are being had within the Government and the Department of Health about implementing a policy of decriminalisation. Has the Department received guidance from the Attorney General about implementing decriminalisation without the creation of new laws? Have any risks or limitations been identified? At the heart of the national drugs strategy is the community drugs sector, local drug and alcohol task force, community drug projects and civil society organisations. These services have the greatest interface with people who use drugs in Ireland and, alongside those with lived and living experience of addiction, have the best understanding of what is working and what is not and how we respond to drug use.”
“As I have said many times, no child says he or she wants to be into drug addiction when he or she grows up. People are powerless over it. A health-led approach is extremely important. From my own work with the RISE Foundation and working in the prison with the women, these were all people who had been in drug addiction, and I know that if they had gone the health-led approach, their lives and the lives of their families would have been completely different. It is just another way of looking at it. They were all amazing women, by the way. I was pleased to see a health-led approach reflected in Fianna Fáil's manifesto for the general election. It is something that my colleagues in the Civil Engagement Group, CEG, and I called for to be included explicitly in the new drugs strategy.”
“Both the citizens' assembly and the joint committee arrived at the same conclusion, namely, that the status quo response to drug use in Ireland had failed and a transformative shift was required to remedy it. That transformative shift should be underpinned by the decriminalisation of drug possession for personal use. When we refer to decriminalisation, we must be clear that we are ultimately talking about decriminalising the person - the drug user - who has a substance in his or her possession for personal use, not the substance itself. Decriminalisation does not mean sanctions, coercion or mandated diversion. Instead, decriminalisation means an entirely voluntary, health-led and informed intervention that sees all of the person and not just his or her addiction.”
“Building on the momentum of the citizens' assembly, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use was convened in March 2024 to consider the assembly's report and provide a roadmap to the Government about how we could give effect to its recommendations, publishing a landmark interim report last October. The new Joint Committee on Drugs Use will commence in public session after the summer. It would be really important to provide its members the opportunity to feed into discussions on the new strategy, if this is not already planned. Could an addendum to the strategy be considered, perhaps once the committee has prepared its final report, to ensure that there is synergy in terms of the policy direction?”
“On the one hand, we say we have a health-led approach but, on the other hand, we still operate within an inflexible punitive model that criminalises people who use drugs. I think this is a worry. The development of the new national drugs strategy is occurring at an important juncture. The Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use published its final report and recommendations in January 2024, presenting a mandate for the State to implement a comprehensive health-led approach to drug use in Ireland and to begin to undo the damage caused to individuals, families and communities by the criminalisation of drug users.”
“It takes an awful lot of courage and strength for family members to step into their own recovery regardless of whether their loved one is in recovery or not. I want to give a shout out to all the amazing families who want to step into their own recovery. The national drugs strategy is a hugely important guiding document that sets out the State's aspiration in responding to drug use and addiction in Ireland. The expiring strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery 2017-2025 , presented a step change in our approach, imbedding a commitment to a health-led response to drug use in addiction in both policy and practice. While the strategy has had some notable successes, the step change that it promised has not been fully realised.”
“The Minister of State and I met recently at an event that was run by the Family Addiction Support Network. I set up the Rise Foundation after going back to college to study addiction therapy and I ended up working in the Rutland Centre. It was there that I met with families and I saw the impact of alcohol and drug harm on those families. I realised quite quickly that they needed their own separate service and their own supports separate from the person. There is no doubt that addiction is a family disease. The whole family is impacted. There is not a family in this country that does not know somebody or have somebody. I just wanted to say that. The Rise Foundation, as the Minister of State will be aware, is something that is very close to my heart and I am still very much involved in it.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber. This is the first opportunity I have had to congratulate her on her new role. I hope she is very well settled into her brief. I know she is very passionate about this area. My colleagues and I in the Civil Engagement Group look forward to working with the Minister of State in the term ahead, particularly my colleague, Senator Lynn Ruane, who is very passionate about promoting harm reduction in Irish drugs policy and in making our approach to drug use and addiction more humane and person centred. Senator Ruane would really like to have been here tonight but she is launching the canal communities local drugs and alcohol task force new public safety strategy this evening. She really regrets that she cannot be here but she is due to meet with the Minister of State in the coming days.”
“Let us act decisively, implement these recommendations and finally ensure that our system of care truly upholds the human rights and happiness of the older population in this country. The time for talk is over. Now is the time for real action.”
“Safeguarding our older citizens is not just a policy issue, it is a moral obligation. They have built this country. They are our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and grandparents. They deserve to live their later years free from fear of abuse or neglect. I often think about myself and what is ahead. We all have to think about that as well. We must move beyond debate and take concrete, co-ordinated action to protect their rights and dignity. We must do this work across all sectors and Departments to support these urgent reforms. That is one of the most important things I want to say today. It has to be done across all sectors and all Departments.”
“Some immediate actions can be taken without delay, such as legislating for better information sharing across agencies when safeguarding concerns arise and broadening the offence of coercive control to better protect vulnerable adults in all relationship contexts. The Department of Social Protection must also step up its role in preventing financial abuse, especially in cases involving third-party agents, as highlighted by recent cases. A simple yet vital measure is the establishment of a national register of advance health directives. This would empower individuals to specify their healthcare wishes, ensuring these are accessible when needed. The infrastructure already exists through the Decision Support Service. A legislative order could implement this swiftly. That is something the Minister of State might consider.”
“We must accelerate the establishment of an interdepartmental and interagency working group tasked with implementing these recommendations. I note that the adult safeguarding Bill is not on the priority list for the Government's summer legislative programme. It should be prioritised. Equally important is the establishment of a fully independent national safeguarding authority, empowered by legislation, with the resources and leadership necessary to oversee safeguarding across sectors - health, justice, social protection and community safety. It is important that this is cross-sectoral approach. It is vital. We also need to strengthen the regulation of healthcare staff to ensure consistent standards of care. Many support staff remain unregulated, which is unacceptable given the vulnerable populations they serve.”
“Furthermore, the community-based options for ageing in place remain limited. The fair deal scheme, designed to assist with care costs, inadvertently favours statutory support in residential placements, leaving many vulnerable older persons without sufficient options for independent living or affordable community supports. What is the timetable for the delivery of appropriately funded home care or community care? This should be a priority. In response to these challenges, I support the urgent implementation of the framework for adult safeguarding published by the Law Reform Commission in April 2024. This comprehensive blueprint offers legislative and policy reforms, such as safeguarding orders, warrants for access and transfer orders, that are crucial for protecting adults from abuse. However, progress remains slow.”
“While inspections can help to standardise care quality, they are snapshots in time and reactive rather than preventative. Complaints are often delayed and investigations sometimes require ministerial requests, creating gaps in timely responses. Systemic abuse, as uncovered in recent investigations, reveals failures not only in direct care but also in governance and oversight. As other colleagues have said, the landscape of nursing home ownership has shifted dramatically over the years. Since the introduction of tax incentives in 1998, private providers now run about 80% of nursing homes, with a growing presence of large international companies. While this has increased capacity, it also raises questions about regulation, quality and the prioritisation of profit over person-centred care.”
“Other speakers have spoken about the very good care some providers deliver - we must give credit where it is due - but these reports reveal systemic issues of abuse, neglect and human rights violations that are entirely unacceptable. They serve as a stark reminder that, despite progress, significant gaps remain in how we protect our most vulnerable. Ireland's ageing population is growing rapidly. In 2011, 11.4% of our population was over 65. By 2022, this had risen to just over 15%. Most older people live at home, but many more reside in residential care. As people age, their needs change and their dependence increases. This is where we must get it right. It is shocking to think that our system for supporting older persons is fundamentally flawed.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber today. I thank him for being here to discuss this very important issue. We have a collective responsibility to safeguard the safety, dignity and well-being of older citizens, particularly those in nursing homes and care settings across Ireland. It is a matter of profound importance. As recent events have laid bare, we all know there is an urgent need for reform. It is a moral imperative that we respond decisively. Most of us have seen and spoken about the recent "RTÉ Investigates" programme, which exposed distressing safeguarding failures within private nursing homes. These revelations echo the tragic failures we saw at Leas Cross in 2005. As a previous speaker said, here we are again, 20 years on. It is outrageous.”
“The amendment seeks to preserve the validity of forensic reports and expert opinions. It avoids delays in trials caused by re-examining evidence, with no extra resources required for evidence management. It also protects the work of technical and digital forensic teams. It would serve to maintain confidence in the justice process, having been drafted with input from forensic and legal practitioners. It safeguards the admissibility of technical evidence and expert testimony. We are happy the Minister of State is not opposing the amendment, but I hope we can discuss it further as we move forward.”
“39 protects all existing legal proceedings, investigations, prosecutions and convictions from disruption. It also ensures that ongoing cases continue under the law enforced when they began while providing automatic translation of references to the phrase "child pornography” to the phrase “child sexual exploitation material” in all legal documents. This prevents victims from having to retestify and maintains the integrity of past convictions. Therefore, victims and witnesses will not need to reappear in court due to changes in terminology and there is no risk of convictions being invalidated on technical grounds. Courts can apply the new term without relegating past evidence. The Bill ensures continuity in family law proceedings and protective orders. Plus, there are no financial implications with the justice system.”
“For avoidance of doubt, references to “child sexual exploitation material” in the title or preamble of this Act shall be construed as synonymous with “child sexual abuse material”.”. I wish to start by saying "Well done" to my colleague, Senator Flynn, on the phenomenal work that she has done, along with her team of Corey and Jessica. It is fantastic legislation. I also thank the Minister of State and the Government for supporting it. This is important legislation, as it replaces in Irish legislation the phrase "child pornography” with the phrase “child sexual exploitation material”. Most of the amendments are simple changes in terminology but several introduce important legal safeguards. We are extremely happy that the Minister of State is acceding to the Bill. Amendment No.”
“I move amendment No. 39: In page 6, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “Legal continuity 9. (1) The amendments made by this Act shall not affect the validity of any proceedings, whether pending or completed, or any investigation, prosecution, conviction, sentence, order, requirement or obligation made, imposed, issued or otherwise undertaken before the commencement of this Act. (2) Any offence committed, or proceedings begun, before the commencement of this Act shall continue to be governed by the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence or the commencement of the proceedings. (3) Any reference in any document, including any warrant, indictment, order or other legal document, to “child pornography” shall be construed as a reference to “child sexual abuse material”.”
“Let us remember the true measure of our humanity is how we respond to the suffering of others and let history judge us by whether we had the courage to stand up, to speak out and to act. Let us be on the right side of history.”
“Empty rhetoric will not stop the slaughter but concrete economic and diplomatic pressure can, and that means enacting the occupied territories Bill as soon as is possible and the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023 to undermine the economic and political viability of Israel's settlements in the West Bank. It also means pushing for an arms embargo, the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement and recognising that, from the river to the sea, Israel is committing the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people. We have to do the right thing here. There must be no more excuses and no more delays. The suffering in Gaza, in the West Bank and across Palestine demands nothing less.”
“My colleague, Senator Alice-Mary Higgins, and I visited Brussels recently and some of the countries are open to this conversation. They want to see Ireland lead on this. There has never been a targeted trade measure of this nature before at the EU level, and if we are serious about upholding international law, we have to break that status quo . I repeat: the years of condemnation must finally be matched with real material action. Trade has to be on the table. It is just unacceptable. We are at a crossroads. If we are serious about upholding international law, we must break that status quo . Trade measures are not only symbolic; they are a moral necessity. How to we make Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinians? We have to do more.”
“I welcome the progress but the urgency is now greater than ever. We cannot afford to waste another moment. We have a duty to ensure this legislation is absolutely solid. We must pursue a full ban on all trade with illegal Israeli settlements, not only tangible goods such as fruit and vegetables but also intangible services such as technology and IT. This aligns with demands of the International Court of Justice, ICJ. I believe that if the political will is there, we can do this right and can get it right. Beyond our own Government, we must look to Europe. Despite declaring these settlements illegal and despite the obligations set out by the ICJ, no European country has yet taken tangible steps to prohibit trade with these settlements.”
“These children are known by a chilling initialism, WCNSF - wounded child, no surviving family. It is absolutely off-the-Richter-scale horrific. When I think about all of this, I imagine the trauma, loss and despair of children who have known nothing but conflict and destruction. We have heard condemnation from many, but what are these words worth if they are not backed by concrete actions? Words without deeds are empty. Our outrage, if not translated into meaningful action, is meaningless. I acknowledge the Tánaiste and the decision by the Government to take action with the occupied territories Bill. This will be a first small step towards real action but it is only the beginning. I first tabled the occupied territories Bill in 2018. It has taken seven long years of delay, suffering and persistence to reach this point.”
“On the inhumanity and brutality, these are not just isolated incidents. They are part of a relentless descent into darkness and yet, even as we witness these horrors, we feel absolutely powerless. Our hearts are absolutely broken, but let me be clear. I say to the wonderful activists and advocates who were marching weekly through horrific weather through the winter months that their actions, voices and relentless pressure can and are making a difference. This week, I listened to a haunting interview with Dr. Victoria Rose, a front-line surgeon working in Gaza. She told us of 2,300 families completely wiped from the Palestinian civil registry - wiped out; they have been annihilated. Dr. Rose spoke of 42,000 children, innocent and vulnerable, who are sole survivors of their families.”
“I will share time with my colleague Senator Higgins. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House today. I welcome the Cathaoirleach of the foreign affairs committee, Deputy John Lahart, here as well. For over a year and a half, we have been confronted with scenes in Gaza that are so horrific that they haunt us long after our screens go dark. Only this week, we saw the devastating image of a child crawling through the flames of a makeshift hospital camp trying to get to safety. More than 55,000 people, Palestinians, are dead. Patients have been burnt to death as they lie in their hospital beds. Doctors, journalists and aid workers have all been murdered. Countless more are maimed and living with horrific injuries. There are children with no families and parents with no children.”
“One of the outcomes from the feedback I received from these sessions and that I introduced in November of last year was the Local Government (Support for Elected Members) Bill 2024. The Bill will provide administrative support for elected members of local authorities to assist in the performance of their duties. These supports are long overdue. I call on all Oireachtas Members to support this Bill as it goes through the legislative process within Leinster House. It is important to keep the governing of communities at a local level to protect decision-making and planning by local councils, and to move away from any type of centralised system or power. It is vital. We need to value the input we received from a range of stakeholders on this topic.”
“Also within the report were 25 recommendations. Included in the recommendations were potential support for councillors, changes to powers and functions of local authorities and a review of the financing of local government. The setting up of this task force and implementation of the recommendations are imperative to help strengthen local government. An area that was highlighted repeatedly within these discussions was the deeply unfair and challenging conditions councillors have to face when trying to serve their communities. Councillors’ roles within representing their communities can be extremely difficult. I know from speaking to councillors, within my capacity as a Senator, the challenges they face day to day without the support they so badly need.”
“I welcome these statements on the local democracy task force. I was proud to be a member of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee in the previous Seanad. We heard some very powerful testimonies from all over the country, from councillors and local government representative organisations North and South, who work at the coalface of their communities, to party leaders, former Ministers and many different experts in local government. The process was very valuable to us as Senators and members of the committee as we heard from a diversity of voices in the Chamber. From this shared experience and expertise, we were able to create an excellent report, which was published in October of last year. One of the outcomes from those hearings was that the committee agreed to the establishment of this local democracy task force.”
“We need serious action in respect of what is happening. What we are watching is an absolute outrage. It is beyond belief. We need action now and we really need that debate on Gaza.”
“In this context, given the response of the US Administration to the ICC arrest warrants for war crimes and the response of companies like Microsoft, which has been to pull their services under threat of legal action on the foot of this, I am deeply worried about the dependency the Oireachtas has on communications infrastructure wholly provided by an American tech company and what this means for our own digital autonomy. Those concerns are also being expressed by our European counterparts. In the Netherlands, government and public institutions are also heavily dependent on Microsoft. Dutch law requires critical infrastructure organisations to maintain a backup plan, and public sector organisations are already exploring ways to reduce their reliance on US-based cloud services. This needs to be looked at and addressed.”
“The court has been heavily curtailed in its operations and, as a result, organisations and contractors the court relies on for its day-to-day work are ceasing communications through email in fear that they might be targeted by US authorities. What is going on in the world, for God’s sake? We all know our own Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and the Tánaiste have both stated that Israel has committed war crimes in respect of the blockade of aid and food to Gaza over the past two months.”
“We can make a difference. I have no doubt about that. I also want to quickly highlight the Associated Press report that Microsoft has cancelled the email address of the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, without notice. This comes in the wake of sanctions imposed on the court by President Trump in February of this year after a panel of ICC judges issued arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes in Gaza. Among other things, the sanctions threaten any company with fines and prison time if they provide Khan with financial material or technological support.”
“I thank my colleague Senator Stephenson for giving me the list of names of children who have been murdered in Gaza at zero years of age. It is too hard to read out the names. I will have to leave some out because we will not have enough time to read them all. What is happening in Gaza is an absolute horror show. We are all watching live on video but it is not a show or a film; this is really happening today. People are getting wiped out. They are being starved to death and we are all watching it going on. It is absolutely outrageous. As my colleagues have said, we need action. We need a debate and a discussion. We need to be able to say what Ireland is doing. We need the occupied territories Bill to be passed. There are a great many things we need to do. I have no doubt that Ireland can and will lead out on this, as it should.”
“To be honest, it is beyond cruel because the mental health impact on those families is off the Richter scale at this point. I cannot even imagine their frustration. These are families who already lived through the trauma of losing their home. They were told they would not be disadvantaged for being early movers, yet they have again been left high and dry and are paying a price for doing what they were told. I support these families. We must continue to support them and not add to their suffering. The situation is not of their making. I plead with the Government to pass this legislation as soon as possible and without any delay because these families have waited long enough.”
“It is awful to think of what they are going through, yet the legislation that would allow for retrospective payments has still not been passed. These families are being forced to pay rent and mortgages while their homes sit unfinished. They are trying to negotiate short-term lets during a housing crisis and clinging in desperation to the Government’s promise that the legislation will be a priority. It is important to note that there was no opposition to the amendment. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland advised the rebuilding rates in March 2024, yet more than a year later the people affected are still waiting. These homeowners have strict deadlines that must be met, yet they cannot meet them due to inaction on passing this legislation.”