Simon Harris
Wicklow · Fine Gael · Ireland
“There are more than 10,000 routes and thousands of buses involved and the number of students using the services is not a million miles away from 200,000. The current terms of the scheme are going to continue to apply for the 2026-27 school year.”
“I thank Deputy McDonald for raising what is genuinely an important issue. I do take the point that when we talk about this in the abstract or from a process point of view in here, that for people watching this is their real lived experience.”
“There number of children who have been supported by means of the school transport scheme, as Deputy Fitzmaurice knows and has alluded to, has grown significantly in recent years. Since 2018, the number increased from 120,000 in 2018 to more than 181,000 now. Included in that figure are 24,000 pupils with special educational needs.”
“I knew the Deputy would have to mention the GAA, especially with Galway and Limerick playing at the weekend. I wish everybody involved the best of luck. We are very committed to the school transport scheme. If the Deputy wants to see our commitment, he should look to our budget.”
“An ageing population, increasing healthcare needs, the transition to net zero and the need for continued investment in housing, energy and infrastructure will place a significant demand on public resources.”
“There is also a legitimacy to the point the Deputy made about how it is a legitimate form of transport for some people. We see this working in other European countries. We see it in our nearest neighbours. I do not want to get the regime wrong, but I think they have registration at the point of purchase that allows people to track this.”
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“I fully agree with the Deputy. My Department and the Defence Forces have been working in close collaboration with An Garda Síochána, the health service and the Air Corps to ensure contingency arrangements are in place while we resolve this pinch point. I had a good meeting with the excellent new Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Rossa Mulcahy. I wish him well in his role. My management board in the Department of Defence and I had an excellent meeting with him and the leadership of the Air Corps. There is a list of things that needs to be done, as the Deputy said, arising from the 2021 report, and even beyond that. The big ask of Government was the service commitment scheme, which we implemented this week at Cabinet. We have taken the decision to provide the funding. That is now available.”
“In respect of Casement Aerodrome at Baldonnel specifically, the following projects, costing a total of €5.8 million, have been completed in recent years: new redeployable modular accommodation; an upgrade to hangar 3; main technical stores refurbishment; and a watermains upgrade. In addition to this, planning is under way for a new barracks service store, a new accommodation building, a new gym, a new crash rescue building, an upgrade to building 12; and a new ATC tower. I am looking forward to visiting Baldonnel because my Department has recently completed the development of an airside master development plan to further develop Casement Aerodrome.”
“The Minister, Deputy Chambers, and I agreed to go ahead with the service commitment scheme for air traffic controllers, which is an extension of the scheme available to pilots in the Air Corps. It will be extended to air traffic controllers. As I pointed out in reply to an earlier question, it is unusual to do this outside of regular processes, for want of a better phase, but we are doing it as a recognition, as the Deputy rightly said, of the fundamental importance of these air traffic controllers not just to Baldonnel but to our country, to our security and, of course, to our Air Corps. My Department is investing some €50 million in national defence infrastructure this year, with a further €12.5 million being provided to the Defence Forces on a fully delegated basis.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is right that there have been real challenges in terms of pinch points regarding specific positions our Air Corps is fundamentally reliant on and the air traffic controllers is the most obvious and current example. In fairness to my predecessors in this role, I point out that the context has changed significantly even since that 2021 report. We have seen an increase in commercial activity in terms of there being other opportunities for air traffic controllers in Ireland. We have also seen a growing shortage of air traffic controllers globally. Both of those things have added to what was already a challenge back in 2021. We have, though, taken big and significant decisions this week.”
“When the time is right and the advice to me is that it is appropriate for me to have meetings, I will be very happy to engage. I obviously have the Deputy in a separate and distinct category as the spokesperson on defence for the largest Opposition party. I am happy to engage with him to see if we can constructively make progress. I will ask, and I have already asked, that we look at the examples in the other jurisdictions referred to by the Deputy. I do not have an exact timeline in relation to this matter. I am informed there are significant complexities in this regard. Perhaps at a meeting or a briefing we could tease through some of this issue in a bit more detail and then no doubt return to it at the next session of parliamentary questions as well.”
“Regardless of that threshold, if there are people in our country who have health needs, there are examples in the past of where we have endeavoured to meet those health needs, separate and distinct from any legal process and trying to establish cause and effect, which people have every right to try to do. These are the two separate issues I am trying to grapple with. I do think of times in the past when, without any admissions of liability, the State has taken actions to try to meet the health needs of some of its people. This is something we should explore.”
“I will very much take away the point made by the Deputy there in respect of a lack of engagement because my note tells me there is an ongoing process of engagement. Clearly, both cannot be factually true. I will, therefore, personally undertake to clarify this point with the State Claims Agency and I am happy to revert to the Deputy. As I said, my officials have begun an exploratory process to consider what options may be available to me from a policy perspective to consider this issue further. Without straying too far, my thinking is that there are legal cases and I would like all these resolved insofar as they can be in a constructive manner. Legal cases, however, always require cause and effect and being able to prove cause and effect.”
“I again draw the Deputy’s attention to the point I made during our previous discussion on this matter, namely, that there is an ongoing process of engagement between the State Claims Agency and current plaintiffs. I did ask that this process be given the time and space. I am interested to know what the Deputy is hearing in respect of that engagement.”
“This is primarily because a considerable portion of the nature and scope of any proposal will need to take account of what can be done without cutting across the current litigation cases and in the context of agreeing these limits and appropriate consultation. This is not in my prepared answer, but I would be very happy to have a briefing with the Deputy on this matter and to ask my officials to sit down and hear his views and thoughts. As I said, there is a challenge in respect of meeting individual people but perhaps we could have my officials engage with the Deputy concerning some of his thoughts on this matter. I know they are working to try to make progress.”
“The issue of alleged exposure to chemicals in the Air Corps is, as the Deputy said, the subject of a number of litigation cases, the management of which has been statutorily delegated to the State Claims Agency. I do, though, wish to advise the Deputy - while remaining faithful to the limitations I have just set out - that at my request and following on from our discussions my officials have started to develop preliminary options and begun a process of the consideration in relation to any possible actions that may inform the general position of those who allege experiencing harm arising from potential chemical exposure. The initial exercise is under way. It is exploratory and arises from my undertaking to the Deputy during previous sessions of oral parliamentary questions. I do not want to go into too many specifics at this point.”
“In fairness to the Deputy, he put me on notice that he is going to raise this issue on each and every occasion, quite rightly and understandably considering the seriousness of it. As I set out previously, and as I am obliged to set out every time this question is posed to me, and despite the constructive way in which the question has been put forward, any discussions we might seek to have or any comments I make are necessarily limited in light of the ongoing litigation in respect of this matter currently being before our courts. I have set out this position in the House previously. There is a limit to what I can say in the circumstances to avoid intrusion into the independent role of our courts in respect of these matters.”
“What if Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin or any of the leaders of the permanent members of the Security Council decide they are going to try to save a bit of money this year and are not as committed to multilateralism? In the context of the Elon Musk review being spoken about at the minute, what if it is decided there is a further need to pull back funding from the UN? Are those people going to decide whether the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann have to come home from southern Lebanon? That is not what I think should happen.”
“The geopolitical situation has evolved significantly over the last several years and extraordinarily rapidly in the last number of years. The idea now that a UN Security Council where we have the likes of Russia threatening to veto things is really serious. I touch wood and hope this does not happen, but we have brave men and women in Lebanon today serving under a UN mandate. We all support them fully. I visited them and they are doing a great job. What if the UN does not renew that mandate? Would it be the view of the Opposition that those peacekeepers should come home, even though it is my view and I think that of the Oireachtas and of the overwhelming majority of people that they are doing an incredible job?”
“The courts arbitrate on our law, Irish courts. They are the arbitrator of any law passed here and ensure that the Government of the day, any Government of any hue - the Deputy might be in government one day - keeps within the laws of the land as passed by the Oireachtas. The law is arbitrated on by the Irish courts, not any Government. There is an arbitrator and it is our courts system. The Deputy is right that the test today on whether we can deploy peacekeepers is the UN Security Council. My contention is that it is now the wrong test and we need to change the test. The Deputy has referred to things like external bodies and the Low Pay Commission. The Government of the day and the Oireachtas appoint people to the Low Pay Commission.”
“It does have to be read in the round. We are very clearly saying in the draft legislation that people could only be deployed where there is the active consent of the host country and the likes. However, in terms of keeping international security, there is absolutely no doubt our troops in Lebanon are helping to keep the security of Lebanon right now.”
“I will constructively engage with any recommendations that come from the Oireachtas committee and the pre-legislative scrutiny report regarding that. To Deputy Ó Laoghaire, I genuinely welcome the points he makes at the start on being happy to legislate to provide greater clarity. This Bill is looking to do a number of things. All is not the triple lock. I think that is the point the Deputy is making. We are looking to reform and change the triple lock, absolutely, but we are also looking to do other things that are separate and distinct from the triple lock, which I think provide clarity for our people on rules around deployment in terms of rescuing Irish citizens from abroad, for example. I welcome the Deputy's constructive support on that. I do think the Deputy picked one element of the draft Bill there.”
“I take very seriously the points Deputy Gibney makes and appreciate her professional background and expertise in these areas. I am happy to work constructively on this issue. We have a clear difference on the triple lock. I respect that difference. It is clear we are not going to resolve it. If Government intends to do what it does intend to do, it is legitimate that the Deputy asks about the safeguards and human rights monitoring. I am happy to engage on how we can strengthen that and try to address it in legislation. Deputy Gibney is right that I did refer to principles of the UN Charter, which is the fundamental grounding here. We are very much open to looking at how we can refine and strengthen that and give it legal effect.”
“I thank the Deputies for their concerted engagement. I definitely did not use the word "hypocrisy". I know the depth of feeling that people have in relation to Gaza. I am just making the point that there is an inconsistency - I think that is the word I used - in relation to it. I do not want to use a loaded phrase because I have huge respect for people who are quite rightly highlighting the situation in Gaza. I am just making the point that we are living in a world that is so turbulent we can no longer rely on international partners to necessarily provide sanction. We cannot even get the UN Security Council to agree a motion in relation to Gaza. That is the point I am making on the current level of dysfunctionality around the veto.”
“During the drafting process these principles will be refined to make sure we provide legal effect to them, and I would welcome any further suggestions on safeguards from the committee and from Members. I look forward to the pre-legislative scrutiny report of the Committee on Defence and National Security. I wish to underline again that the proposed amendments to the legislation are in keeping with Ireland’s values and policy of being militarily unaligned and being militarily neutral, and these changes do nothing, and do not wish to do anything, to undermine that policy. As this House is aware, Ireland’s policy of military neutrality is characterised by the non-membership of military alliances or common or mutual defence arrangements, which is set out in the Constitution.”
“Further elements are trust in partners in the operation and that the operation operates in accordance with international law and is consistent with the UN Charter. In evaluating proposals to join an operation consideration of the legal framework, rules of engagement, concept of operations also form the basis of deliberations. I would also like to highlight the current legal framework that applies for EU military missions. Under Article 21 of the Treaty of the European Union the Union’s action shall be guided by the principles of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.”
“I am very open to working across the House on this. So far my thinking on this is that in parallel with removing the UN mandate requirement, I have proposed that governing principles will be included in the legislation. Those already proposed in the draft Bill will require that the mandate of these operations must be consistent with and adhere to the principles of the UN Charter and international law. The UN Charter is the bedrock here. If there is a view that we need to strengthen that, I am happy to engage. In assessing any request to participate in a mission, among the main considerations are its compliance with Irish law and our foreign policy. Other elements include consent of the host nation. This is important as I have heard people asking if this could apply to non-peacekeeping or peace enforcing.”
“The people of Ireland decide where our peacekeepers go. Their democratically elected officials decide, not people who have never received one vote in any constituency in this country. That is how our democracy works. It is how many neutral countries work as well. The triple lock is not the norm in other neutral countries. In my view and the view of the Government, the decision-making should be within the remit of the Government of the day and the people's representatives in Dáil Éireann, people who have been democratically elected. I very much recognise, however, that in removing the UN Security Council mandate there is a need to provide alternative safeguards to underpin the future dispatch of Defence Forces personnel. I am very open to the Deputy. This is why we publish draft legislation and have pre-legislative scrutiny.”
“I wish to again underline that the legislation in place currently allows members of the UN Security Council, by means of a veto or indeed threat of same, to bind Ireland's hands in its international peacekeeping engagements. The veto by a UN Security Council member on a proposed resolution for a full and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza on 4 June last is further evidence of this. It is simply untenable for this Government to continue with this policy. I recently saw some people at a press conference opposing the abolition of the triple lock and then asking me to send the Navy to the humanitarian blockade in Gaza. There would not be a UN mandate to do that. The inconsistency in respect of this is quite breathtaking. I strongly believe that such consideration on international engagements should be within our sovereign control.”
“I propose to take Questions No. 2 and 4 together. I thank Deputy Gibney for the question. As she is aware and has alluded to, I brought forward the general scheme of the defence (amendment) Bill 2025, which amends the legislation underpinning overseas deployments of the Defence Forces. This was agreed by Cabinet on 4 March. The Bill will, among other things, provide for the modification of the existing requirement regarding the dispatch of the Defence Forces for service outside the State as part of an international force. Under the current proposals in the general scheme to amend the existing legislation, the requirement for a UN mandate will be removed.”
“I expect Defence Forces leadership and Air Corps leadership now to do their part and I know they will. I agree with the Deputy on the broader point - there is a question on this from either him or Deputy Crowe listed for later and I will come to it - regarding how we look specifically at some of the technical skills required in our Defence Forces, separate and distinct from how we look at broader issues around recruitment and retention. There is great sense in that.”
“On the latter point, I do not. I have been assured that contingency arrangements are in place. The Deputy is right about how we need to look more at the pinch points in our Defence Forces in general, and I will come back to this in a moment. I expect significant restoration of services at Baldonnel to happen very rapidly. I expect that to be the case because in my conversations with military leadership and the new Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, I was made aware that a number of air traffic controllers may leave the Air Corps to work in other environments, as they are entitled to do. Providing this service commitment scheme may make a fundamental difference with regard to them changing their position. We have delivered our bit in terms of the Government putting this in place.”
“I want to say two things to try to reassure people. I was told by military leadership that if we got this in place, it would make a very real difference in ensuring that people who had been considering leaving will stay. Therefore, I expect significant restoration of services at Baldonnel very quickly. Contingency arrangements have been put in place with other agencies. I want people, including bad actors, to know that there are measures in place to ensure that there are contingency arrangements.”
“The service commitment scheme has been referenced for a number of years, from my recollection, and it is no more than my recollection. I believe it might have surfaced around 2021 in a list of recommendations but I am open to correction on that year. Generally, the way of progressing these issues is through local bargaining. In fairness, the Deputy will recognise that normally the Department of public expenditure and reform would say to go through the local bargaining, there is a pot of funding there and the issues should be worked out. In light of the importance of the issues highlighted and as this is our national military airfield, we have decided to act outside of local bargaining. These decisions are very rarely taken outside of normal public sector pay processes. We are doing that because of the immediacy of it.”
“I thank the Chief of Staff for working with me closely on this. I was asked to get that service commitment scheme in place with immediate effect. We have done that this week and I now expect people to get on with it.”
“The actions pursued are aimed at delivering an ongoing stream of qualified people to fill vacancies as they arise. I assure the Deputy that I am firmly resolved to ensure minimum disruption to services. My officials are also actively engaged with their Air Corps colleagues in securing additional resources, including from external service providers, to ensure all avenues are being examined. Looking to the longer term, I advised Cabinet this week of my intention to conduct a peer review of how our air traffic control services are provided as compared with how other militaries provide similar services. There is a worldwide shortage of air traffic controllers. We have seen pinch points like this before. It is important that we learn from how other militaries are addressing similar challenges.”
“This week I sought and secured Government approval for the following measures: the introduction with immediate effect of a service commitment scheme for air traffic control personnel; new entry options to air traffic control service, namely a direct entry option; new promotion opportunities within the service; and outsourcing of aspects of the training provided. All of these individual actions are now being actioned and are aimed at ensuring that existing personnel and indeed those known to be considering leaving the service are incentivised to remain in the service. These actions build on other specific measures that have been introduced, including the provision of a mentor in provision of air traffic control and the introduction of a bespoke air traffic control cadetship competition in 2024 which has been advertised again this year.”
“I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for raising this important matter. It provides me with an opportunity to set out the position and the immediate steps that I and the Government have taken to ensure that air traffic control services operating at Baldonnel are restored to full service. Initial indications from the military authorities were received by my Department in May on the likelihood of challenges in regard to service provision. Since then, significant engagement has taken place and a number of immediate actions have been identified.”
“My Department and I and the Government will continue to constructively engage with Seanad Éireann on an issue which I know is causing extraordinary distress and concern to people in our country because what we are seeing are war crimes, genocide and the starvation of children and vulnerable civilians, and we all have to work on this.”
“I call for some of the bigger European countries to find the courage to do it as well. It would be extraordinarily helpful in keeping the prospect of a two-state solution alive. You cannot have a two-state solution if you do not recognise the existence of two states. There will be a major UN conference next month, at which Ireland will play a leadership role. It will be a really important opportunity for more countries to join the coalition for a two-state solution. I thank everyone for constructively engaging on this.”
“I want Ireland to pass this legislation. Does this fundamentally change things for Netanyahu? Of course not. Does it matter? Of course it does. It matters morally but I also hope it will have a cascading effect that other countries in the European Union who share our view will also say that maybe they can do that as well. Simply waiting for unanimity at European level is not an acceptable situation. Let us work constructively on this. I look forward to doing that and this House can do some good work. While a two-state solution seems further away than ever before, I am proud that this country recognised the State of Palestine a year ago yesterday, joining with Norway and Spain. Since then Slovenia has recognised it and Malta has said it will do so next month.”
“There is no ego involved in this for her - I fully acknowledge that - and that it is about doing the right thing. We are going to do the right thing together. People will always argue there is more to do but this week we became the first country in the European Union where a government has said it will ban trade with the occupied Palestinian territories. That is the Government decision. I now have to draft legislation, get it to the Joint Committee on foreign affairs – I welcome its Cathaoirleach, Deputy John Lahart to the Gallery today – and I will work with the committee constructively. There are no policy differences with me on the issue of services. There are legal differences and we have to work and tease through those. That is what pre-legislative scrutiny is for. However, I want to pass this legislation.”
“I am deeply concerned by the implications of Israeli legislation targeting UNRWA, which has been the backbone of the humanitarian response. Ireland stands with UNRWA. It has increased its funding to UNRWA and has worked with the European Union to make sure we collectively increased our funding to UNRWA and we continue to support UNRWA. It is an attack on multilateralism and on a humanitarian aid system and we cannot tolerate it. Unfortunately, time is so tight to cover such a vast range of issues but I turn briefly to the occupied territories Bill. First, I praise Senator Frances Black for her tenacity but also for her decency in how she has gone about her business, and for working collaboratively and not caring who brings forward what Bill.”
“Last year, the UN OCHA recorded the highest ever level of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians that resulted in casualties and damage. So far this year there have been 487 such instances recorded. The conditions of life for Palestinians in the West Bank are intolerable. Last Wednesday, the IDF fired shots in the vicinity of a visit to Jenin by a group of diplomats, including two Irish diplomats based in Ramallah. Fortunately, no one was hurt but this is completely unacceptable, and let me put again on the record today my condemnation of this incident in the strongest possible terms. I also condemn the brutal antisemitic murder of two officials from the Israeli Embassy in Washington last week. Our thoughts and condolences are with the families of those involved.”
“Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law. This is our long-standing position. Instances of settler violence have intensified in recent months. Ireland has strongly supported the sanctions adopted by the EU against both individuals and entities involved in settler violence. Again we call for progress on proposals for sanctions targeting violent settlers. We reiterated that at the most recent Foreign Affairs Council. As well as these violent acts, I draw attention to some other troubling developments happening in the West Bank. Since January 2024, 616 Palestinians, including 115 children, have been killed by Israeli settlers or by the Israel Defense Forces. A further 4,512 Palestinians have incurred injuries, almost 1,000 of them children.”
“A recent report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has found that Israel is taking serious and accelerated steps to annex more and more parts of the occupied Palestinian territory. I agree with a recent statement from the EU High Representative which expresses deep concern over the Israeli incursions in the West Bank, as well as illegal practices such as settlement activities, home demolitions and settler violence. These actions undermine the rights of Palestinian people, threaten the prospects for a just and lasting peace and further entrench the offensive. Ireland, alongside EU partners, is strongly opposed to the settlement policy and activities, including in and around East Jerusalem. We call on Israel to immediately halt these activities.”
“Far too little, far too late. This step was first initiated by Ireland and Spain in February 2024 when just two of us were seeking this. Ireland has consistently called for a meaningful interpretation of Israel’s human rights obligations under the agreement. The human rights clauses in that agreement are not there for padding or to make the agreement longer. They have real meaning and need to be given effect. Both the Taoiseach and I have also said that at this stage the agreement should be suspended pending the review. While the situation in Gaza is front of mind, we must also ensure adequate attention is paid to the situation in the West Bank, where Israel is conducting its single largest military operation in 20 years. At least 40,000 people have been displaced since January.”
“Quite frankly the international community is not doing enough - nobody is doing enough - and we must challenge ourselves every day and ask what more can we do. I am very clear it is our duty and our obligation to stand up for our values which we hold dear and which have served our country well. I am proud that both Houses of the Oireachtas are upholding that obligation. It is our duty to stand up for multilateralism, the rule of law, human rights, international law and international humanitarian law. As a country which has its own experience of famine, it is a human catastrophe we cannot countenance. Over the past few weeks, we have seen some progress on issues where Ireland has shown leadership. At the Foreign Affairs Council on 20 May, finally a majority of EU member states agreed to a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.”
“There was a very brief moment when there was a faint glimmer of hope that after all of the conflict, pain and death, there was a ceasefire, hostages were released and aid was beginning to flow. We need to get back to that process. Humanitarian aid must be allowed into and throughout Gaza at scale. I should say to the Irish people that this is aid they funded. Enough aid funded by our taxpayers, our citizens, to feed around 6,000 Palestinians has been sitting in trucks in Jordan for four months. It could be in there today. The only reason it is not - there is no other reason - is that Israel will not allow it in. That is aid funded by Irish people, sitting there while people are starving. Amid these horrors, we have to ask ourselves if we are doing enough.”
“It places beneficiaries and aid workers at risk, undermines the role and independence of the UN and our trusted partners, and links humanitarian aid to political and military objectives. If you want food, do this, go there; that is not how humanitarian aid works. We must be clear. Humanitarian aid can never be politicised. It can never be part of military activity. Quite simply, it is another outrage that is clearly designed to further control and restrict supplies. We call on Israel to allow a full resumption of vitally needed aid at scale into Gaza, in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles. We also call on Israel to enable the UN and humanitarian organisations to work independently. Crucially, we urge everybody to get back to talks aimed at immediately agreeing a ceasefire and hostage release deal.”
“The obstruction of life-saving aid by Israel is a violation of its international obligations. The limited restart of humanitarian aid, if we can even call it that, into Gaza is clearly insufficient. It is a drop in the ocean of a vast need. Israel has approved a new model for delivering aid into Gaza that no humanitarian partner could support. The humanitarian partners are clear that they will not participate in any agreement that does not fully respect humanitarian principles. The CEO of that new delivery mechanism resigned on Sunday, citing the impossibility of implementing the plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. The UN has raised concerns that the proposed model cannot deliver aid effectively at the speed and scale required.”
“There is too much whataboutery when people try to conflate Hamas, which is a despicable illegal terrorist organisation, with standing up for the people of Palestine, who deserve their sovereignty and their independence. Hamas offers them no bright future. I condemn in the strongest possible way the continuing Israeli military operations in Gaza. It is clearly a war crime. It is clearly genocidal activity. I abhor Israel’s clear plans to not only persist but, extraordinarily worryingly, to go further and starve, displace, kill and reoccupy. We urgently need an end to all of this. Ireland is extraordinarily concerned by the latest assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, IPC, the global hunger monitor, that the entire population of Gaza is facing high levels of food insecurity, with 500,000 people facing starvation.”
“As public representatives, we are compelled to act on behalf of our citizens, to put that collective action into a force for change. In the first instance, let me recall Ireland’s position, which I am proud to say has been consistent and considered. We unequivocally condemn the terror attacks by Hamas in Israel on 7 October 2023. We all do. We unequivocally condemn the taking of hostages by Hamas and have repeatedly called for their immediate release. We echo that call today. Hamas has brought nothing but death and destruction to the people of Palestine and Israel alike. They offer the people of Palestine no hope for the future. These are not just my words. That is the view of the President and the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. I believe it is also the view of the vast majority of Palestinian people.”
“The escalating cruelty, the genocide, of 80 days of the Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid means the entire population of Gaza is now at risk of famine. The people of Gaza have been forced to flee from their homes, on an almost continual basis over the past 18 months. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, has described them as being "treated like pinballs", being forced to flee "in search of safety that doesn’t exist." On our television screens and social media feeds, citizens of this country are witnessing appalling humanitarian atrocities unfold in front of our eyes. What we are seeing is an affront to our collective humanity. What we are seeing is evil.”
“All of us, every single day we come to work, and I do not doubt anybody's bona fides on this, are working to do our very best as a small country to make a positive impact in a very volatile, dangerous and uncertain world. As today is International Day of Peacekeeping, I also wish to thank the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann who are serving in peacekeeping missions, most particularly our UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon in that region. They are working so hard to keep peace in a very volatile situation. I know that people right across the political divide and across our country are so proud of them and all that they do. Last week, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, stated that Palestinians are enduring "what may be cruellest phase of this cruel conflict".”
“I am very pleased to have an opportunity to be here today and I thank Seanad Éireann for inviting me. I have commitments in the other House so I will take this debate along with the Ministers of State, Deputies Thomas Byrne and Neale Richmond. I said in the other House yesterday and will say today again at the outset that I hope the starting and end point of this debate will be not be "Opposition good, Government bad" or "Government good and Opposition bad". People right across this country, including every Member of Seanad Éireann, are utterly horrified and repulsed at what is happening in Gaza. Nobody, no matter what their party jersey is, or none, has a monopoly on that.”