Ms Marie Crawley:

Can I respond and then we will go back to Fatin because obviously it has particular personal ramifications? In fact, my comment will also respond to the question asked by Deputy Ó Laoghaire in terms of the alleged futility of this measure.

Ireland has form in terms of us taking a lead in relation to Palestine, as members will have seen in my written statement. We were the first country, through the Bahrain Declaration, to explicitly state that the Palestinian people had a right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine. That subsequently became the policy of EU member states and, indeed, the EU itself.

In 2022, the Oireachtas passed a motion recognising that what is happening in the West Bank amounts to annexation. It is now generally accepted that Israel is annexing Palestinian territory. Even a year ago, at the start of this genocide, it was the then Taoiseach, Deputy Harris, and the Prime Minister of Spain who called for a review of the EUROMED agreement. Now there is a much wider block calling for a review of the EUROMED agreement. We have history in terms of taking the lead and taking that first step. Likewise, we should do that in relation to this Bill.