Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their valuable contributions to this debate over the past several hours. I first to echo the horror they have all expressed at the tragedy unfolding in Israel and Gaza as we speak. The scenes we have witnessed over the last few days have left us all fundamentally shaken. There can be no excuse for this level of brutality and bloodshed.

I am appalled by the strike on the hospital in Gaza and the deaths of hundreds of patients, staff and civilians taking shelter. The full facts must be established and those responsible must be held to account. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a breach of international humanitarian law.

I want to restate that I unequivocally condemn the initial attack by Hamas on Israel and the systematic targeting of civilians, including young children and the elderly. The death of a young Irish woman was truly devastating and as a nation we are united in mourning Kim Damti. She is a member of the Cooper family in Coolrain, County Laois who are immediate neighbours of mine. I know the family and I personally want to extend deepest sympathies to the family not only from the Houses of the Oireachtas but especially the Oireachtas Members in Laois-Offaly. I think Deputies will understand my saying that.

I also want to extend our sympathies to the family of Emily Hand, whose father we saw on the television at the weekend, and those of members of the Oireachtas community to Yara Alagha and her sister Lara as I understand up to 28 members of their extended family have been killed and they are well-known to many in the Oireachtas. No matter where in the world, we all know someone who has been directly affected.

The actions by Hamas were vile and barbaric but we need to distinguish between Hamas and Palestinians civilians in Gaza. We cannot see collective punishment of the civilian population for the crimes of Hamas. I understand the sentiment expressed by so many Deputies relating to the continued bombardment of Gaza. We have to be clear that Israel has the right to defend itself and its people from attack, but it is critical that this is done within the parameters of law. International humanitarian law, and the principle of proportionality, exist for a reason. They are universally applicable for a very good reason. However heinous the attack that prompts the right to self-defence, militaries are obligated to protect civilians in all their actions. We have to reject unequivocally, consistently and vocally, those who advocate for violence as a means to resolve conflict in the Middle East. The numbers of lives which have been lost, irrevocably damaged, or placed in mortal danger continues to rise.

A commitment to multilateralism - the rules-international based international order, with the UN charter at its core - is the cornerstone of Irish foreign policy. This situation is no different. This has been the Tánaiste’s message to all his counterparts in Europe and in the region that he has been speaking to over the last week. The UN Secretary-General has made it very clear; even wars have rules. International humanitarian law exists for a reason. Its overarching aim is to protect civilians. That means all civilians, everywhere.

The rules of war exist to help preserve humanity in its darkest moments, and they desperately need to be followed here now. They are, and should remain, our compass to ensure that we put humanity first. The rules are clear and they apply to all sides in all conflicts everywhere; state and non-state armed groups alike.

Another significant issue, beyond the bombardment and risk of expected invasion, is of course the lack of basic resources available to civilians in Gaza as a result of the continued restrictions preventing necessities from entering the region. I have seen increasingly worrying reports over the last few days regarding the hardships being faced by civilians in Gaza. Many are now without access to basic needs such as water and electricity, and many hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes. The decision by the Israeli military to tell the entire civilian population in the north of Gaza to move southward for their own safety was unrealistic, unworkable and dangerous from the beginning.

We are seeing the terrible humanitarian consequences caused by these decisions. Our partners in Gaza have informed us that the situation is dire and likely to worsen in the coming days unless relief aid arrives. As he mentioned in his statement, the Tánaiste spoke with the Commissioner General of United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, on Monday evening, who described the situation as an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”. There is an urgent need for humanitarian corridors to be established to deliver vital humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians. We are in ongoing contact with the UN, International Committee of the Red Cross and regional partners on this issue. It is essential that this happens as a matter of urgency to prevent further loss of life.

As Minister of State with responsibility for international development, I am proud to confirm that it remains Ireland’s firm stance that our support to those most vulnerable through development and humanitarian activities in the occupied Palestinian territory will be maintained. We believe that this support provides a crucial source of stability and we do not support the suspension of aid to the Palestinian people.

Ireland has a long-standing commitment to supporting humanitarian aid. Our assistance programme this year was to amount to €16 million for Palestine; that will be almost double after the Tánaiste’s announcement here this afternoon of a further €13 million in the light of the extensive needs in Gaza. Ireland’s assistance programme to the Palestinians through UNRWA, now totalling €29 million this year, is more important now than ever, and it will continue. It will help hundreds of thousands affected by the crisis in Gaza as quickly as we can open channels to humanitarian aid. Even in the last two hours since that announcement was made the UNRWA has publicly acknowledged that contribution. It will ensure that it will get to the hundreds of thousands of people who need help once the humanitarian routes are open. I also want to welcome the announcement of the EU’s humanitarian funding to Palestine will be tripled to €75 million. The EU and member states are united in our condemnation of the Hamas attack on Israel and our insistence that Israel’s response must be within the parameters of international law.

The EU has an important role to play. Our Common Foreign and Security Policy, which all member states help to share and are required by the treaties to implemented.

I want to mention - it has been referred to by one or two people - that many families in Ireland are rightly concerned about what is happening because 500 members of our Defence Forces are on UN peacekeeping missions and duties in Lebanon as we speak. Our thoughts are with all of those soldiers - both male and female; I stress that. Their families want to be assured that they will be kept safe. They are on heightened alert, as are their families at home. We want to make sure they can continue their work insofar as possible at this difficult time and that they all come home safely when their term expires.

Ministers discussed the European Commission's review of development assistance to the Palestinians. The Tánaiste welcomed the clarification that the development co-operation funding for Palestine will not be suspended during the course of this review. I already indicated the level of funding - we want to get supplies directly to those people. We have seen things like but not of this scale in several regions around the world where there have been earthquakes or floods or issues like that. After a few days, through the UN, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and other organisations, we are able to get supplies directly to places, once it safe to do so. We want to ensure that is the case. It is essential that UN agencies, most crucially United Nations Relief Works Agency, are allowed to continue their work in the coming days and weeks because we need that assistance to be provided.

I also acknowledge that there was an extensive motion from the Government before the House. Statements are separate; we had the motion earlier. It unreservedly condemns the brutal attack by Hamas. It also echoes the call by the UN for an immediate ceasefire to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza. It also emphasises Israel's right to defend itself but it must be in line with international law. Some amendments have been tabled to the motion but I think there will be general support for it when the time comes to deal with it. I thank everybody for their extensive contributions in Dáil Éireann today. There will be similar statements in Seanad Éireann tomorrow. We are reflecting the views of the people of Ireland in our debate in both Houses of the Oireachtas over these two days.

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