Ms Hilary Minch:

Members have asked rich and interesting questions and I hope our responses are doing them some justice.

The European Union is a significant donor to Palestine, but it is worth remembering that since the attacks on Gaza during the summer when more than 50,000 houses were destroyed not one of them has been rebuilt more than 100 days later. None of the international or EU aid promised to Gaza has made any difference on the ground. That is because Israel decides who and what comes in and out Gaza. All of the money available means nothing if Gaza is under siege. I do not know what is happening at EU level, but Ireland must do as much as it can to persuade its EU partners to introduce a ban on settlement goods. It can look at the existing mechanisms and the EU-Israel association agreement which gives Israel and other non-European countries tariff free access to the European Union. Article 1 of the agreement talks about the human rights obligations of all parties and if these obligations are being breached, there is a mechanism for cancelling or changing the agreement. I do not think we have to look for new things to do, but we need to use the mechanisms we have available to create a sense of urgency and the will to do something. As Deputy Bernard J. Durkan said, after 65 years the situation is getting worse and we have an obligation and a duty to do the best we can.