Paul Bradford (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I believe it is the subject matter of a Private Members' motion in the other House so, presumably, it will come to a satisfactory conclusion for everybody this evening.

I support the request from Senator Jim D'Arcy that the Leader invite the new Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to the House to discuss two issues, if we have time which, I hope, we will. It is important to discuss the situation in the Middle East. I listened with interest to the comments by my colleagues about the current crisis. While Garth Brooks is on the front page of every newspaper, there is a situation developing in the Middle East with profound long-term consequences to every citizen of the globe.

I accept what Senator Walsh said that we must reflect on the plight of Palestinian young people and ask what would we do if we were them. However, I would also ask colleagues to reflect on the plight of Israeli young people, not just today but for generations. Their existence is deemed by a certain number of states and terrorist groups as being dispensable. Let us acknowledge that, even as we speak, there are states whose avowed intention is to wipe the state of Israel off the map. If we were living under those conditions, we would feel very defensive. I am not condoning the excess of the Israel military operations but we must always see both sides of the story and we should strongly proclaim the right of Israel to continue exist. That should be at the centre of our debate.

The second reason to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to the House is that we urgently need a debate on the political situation in Northern Ireland. The House will be in recess on 31 August, the 20th anniversary of the 1994 cease-fire, which came 25 years too late for 3,000 people. However, it would be useful if we debated the current situation in Northern Ireland before the recess, if possible.