Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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Question 8: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has engaged in any communication with Israeli officials regarding the issue of the on-going shooting and shelling of Palestinian minors working near the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel which between 26 March 2010 and 17 February 2011, there have been 27 children shot while collecting building material as documented by DCI-Palestine. [33720/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I am aware of the report of DCI-Palestine, which documents the cases of 27 teenage children shot and injured while collecting building material near the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel between March 2010 and February this year. These children and a number of adults scavenge for building materials among the destroyed buildings close to the border fence. This is testament to the inadequate volume of construction materials being allowed into Gaza and to the complete collapse of economic life and employment opportunities in the territory as a consequence of the blockade. I have raised this disturbing report in recent discussions with the Israeli ambassador and I intend to pursue it further when I visit Israel and Palestine, as I plan to in the near future. These shootings arise from the maintenance by Israel of a no-go zone of about half a kilometre in front of the border fence and I am also concerned about the effect this has in preventing farmers in Gaza accessing much of their land, which is in very short supply already.

I must acknowledge, however, that it would be very much easier to make this case if militant groups in Gaza were not regularly launching and seeking to launch attacks on or across the border, including attacks on the crossing points through which Gaza's supplies come. In this context, I make it clear that I condemn all acts of violence across the Israel-Gaza frontier, regardless of by whom or from where they are initiated.

Ireland has raised other issues concerning the treatment of Palestinian children generally in the Occupied Territories with the Israeli authorities, as well as in international fora such as the Human Rights Council in Geneva. I have also made clear my strong views on the overall blockade of Gaza which forms the background to this issue.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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The report I have seen from the organisation Defence for Children International makes for harrowing reading. It includes pictures of children who were shot and injured by the Israeli defence forces in the region. I thank the Tánaiste's officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and in the Irish Embassy to Israel for their assistance in recent days in dealing with the 14 Irish human rights activists. Anytime I rang the officials, they came back quickly with clarification. In addition, they did everything they said they would to make the families aware of the state of play on their loved ones. I must give credit where credit it due and personally thank the officials. However, we have nine more activists to get home; therefore, let us work together to achieve this. We can then deal with the wider issue involved.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does the Deputy have a supplementary question on this issue?

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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I am taking the opportunity to discuss the situation in Gaza and the fact that 1 million people are in an open-air prison. There is no doubt that there are fundamental issues-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is a different question.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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What is the international community doing? What can Ireland do?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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There is a time limit and the Deputy is over time.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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The Ceann Comhairle will appreciate that it is difficult to summarise the profound issues involved in a couple of minutes.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I have to stick to the questions on the Order Paper.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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I will wrap up on this point. Does the Tánaiste accept that the reason 14 Irish human rights activists considered it necessary to undertake the mission was the international community had failed to address the issues involved?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks about my departmental officials who have worked very hard in the past week. Each day they have visited the 14 people in detention and worked to have them released and returned to their families here as quickly as possible. I have been in daily contact with our officials both here and in Israel on the matter. I had hoped that seven of the 14 people held would be home today and the other seven tomorrow. I still hope all of them will be home by tomorrow. That is our immediate priority. As the Deputy said, there are issues which we can raise with the Israeli authorities and I have already indicated some of them to the Israeli ambassador.

The blockade of Gaza should not be continuing. The international community has to work to get the negotiations back on track between Palestine and Israel to find a solution to the problem. The Quartet's statement agreed at the UN General Assembly which provides a timetable for discussions is very helpful. We must work and build on it.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Given that the Tánaiste has acknowledged the rogue behaviour of the Israeli state in Gaza, including shooting children, the siege and snubbing the Government in raising the treatment of our citizens-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does the Deputy have a question?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Does the Tánaiste think it is time we stopped treating Israel as a normal state, playing nice guys and started to get tough? He should be making the kind of statements he rightly made about the failures of the Church in this country and its abuse of individuals. Why can we not hear statements about Israel's behaviour which are as strong as those made about the role of the Church in the abuse of children?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are over time on this question. I call on the Tánaiste to give a quick reply.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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We have to seek a resolution of the conflict and the difficulties involved. Some progress has been made through the Quartet's statement. I have made the Government's position clear on the issues of Palestinian statehood and membership of the United Nations. We have to work constructively in order to find a solution. That is the approach I intend to take. I do not intend to mince my words about actions taken concerning settlements or the blockade of Gaza. Nor do I intend to mince my words about rockets being launched from Palestine into Israel, which is not on either. We must use our good authority in international organisations, as well as our experience of conflict resolution, to see what we can do to help.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I do not want to be awkward, but I stress that there are six minutes allotted to deal with an ordinary question: two minutes for the Minister's reply and four minutes for supplementary questions, with a limit of one minute in the case of each supplementary question. Members should, please, adhere to these rules, as otherwise we will not get through the questions tabled and other Deputies' questions will not be answered.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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It is not easy.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I know, but these are the rules. If the Deputy wants to change them, I do not mind, but these are the rules I have to apply.