Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the three witnesses for their succinct and powerful presentations. I have a couple of questions but will first make an observation. We are in a unique situation in that everybody around this table has the same objective, which is to see enacted as soon as is humanly possible the strongest and most effective legislation. The comparison between what we are about here and the Dunnes Stores strike, and everything that flowed from it, is unavoidable. We are talking about a situation, if we accept the figures given to the committee yesterday, whereby the impact on both the occupied territories and Ireland is economically negligible. There is, however, an enormous moral symbolism and significance to it all. It would allow us to take up a leadership position in the world.

I will put my questions briefly. While we are all ad idem, I spoke to a very good friend of mine this morning who does not agree with any of this. The person says this is a precursor to the introduction of a ban on goods from Israel. That person also says it is a part of an antisemitic agenda. That person says that the friends of Israel in America, who has been benign to Ireland, will be upset and will take action against us. How do the witnesses respond to that?

There is another issue to which Senator Black referred. It breaks my heart to think of the storage of food across the border and it rotting while children die. The public believes that constitutes a failure of the UN and international organisations. They ask why the UN cannot go in with this food, why we cannot organise air drops and why other parliaments and our Parliament will not spend the time we are now spending talking about the important legislation talking about how we can act to provide resources.

Finally, on the Attorney General, I yesterday expressed my frustration that this has been going on so long and we do not yet have his advice. Has the Attorney General said he has not yet provided his advice or that he is not in a position to advise? Is it simply reported that the Attorney General has not yet provided advice? There is a difference.