Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Tánaiste. I find some of the language used by the Tánaiste in his speech today a little difficult to understand and I do not pretend to know the ins and outs of everything.

The Tánaiste made reference to the retention of confidence, which centred around the measures agreed in June. Over the summer there was much positivity regarding our meeting of Troika targets, the NTMA bond auctions and so forth. While it is good that we have met those targets, what is more important is the Compact for Growth and Jobs. Many people are asking how the meeting of targets is impacting on their daily lives. There is a social cost involved, with the disabled and pensioners badly affected and people losing their jobs across Europe. Is it worth it? That is the big question. It is the confidence of ordinary people that I would be more interested in winning, rather than that of those who feature in the financial pages of The Irish Times or other newspapers. While market confidence is important, the confidence of the general population is more so and in that context, the Compact for Growth and Jobs and the stimulus package the Tánaiste referred to are crucial. When will we see the benefits of those coming through? That is the main question on people's minds. They want to know when we will see light at the end of the tunnel. If the price of meeting the troika targets is the dismantling of social supports right across Europe, then it is not worth it. The Tánaiste spoke about lunches, side-meetings and so forth but the crisis is not just in Ireland, it is Europe-wide.

I attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade a few hours ago, which was addressed by a group from Palestine. They spoke about the situation on the ground, where people are being forced off their land, the water supply is contaminated and so forth. The Tánaiste made a statement to the effect that if the situation there deteriorates further, we may consider imposing a boycott on settler-made goods. Committee members wondered today if things could get much worse. When we take over the Presidency next year, perhaps we could take that line. People want to see action on this issue, not just in Ireland but across Europe. The conflict in Palestine seems to have moved off the agenda because of the Arab Spring and what is happening in Syria but what is happening there amounts to ethnic cleansing. People are being forced off their land, in some cases at gunpoint. All sorts of excuses are being used in an attempt to justify it. The Tánaiste is well aware of the situation and the Irish Government has been very positive with regard to Palestine.

The Palestinian representatives spoke about the money that has come from the European Union for infrastructure projects, which amounted to €50 million over the last few years. Approximately €30 millionworth of that infrastructure has been destroyed, with the demolition of schools, other buildings and so on. Indeed, it appears that there is a deliberate targeting of EU-funded infrastructure. Perhaps it is time for Europe to step up to the plate and do something about the situation.