Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I dtosach báire, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire go dtí an Seanad chun an díospóireacht tábhachtach seo a phlé. Ba mhaith liom freisin comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis as an bpost tábhachtach atá bainte amach aige. Go n-éirí go geal leis mar Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha sa bhliain amach romhainn.

The recall of the House has given rise to some questions. One of these relates to why we are not engaging in a debate on the plight of the innocent people and children, particularly Christians, who are being persecuted and killed in Syria, Egypt, Nigeria and Iraq. Prior to 2003 there were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq, whereas now the number stands somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000. That is a decrease of 90% and very little focus has been placed on it by the media, particularly in Ireland, and the political establishment throughout Europe. The Christians to whom I refer have been the victims of extremely Muslim fundamentalists and particular regimes in the region.

That is a fair criticism. The truth is that today we are not debating the situation in Gaza or the situation in Ukraine. Most speakers will have two and a half minutes to talk about Gaza and two and half minutes to talk about Ukraine.