Ms Lorna Hayes:

I thank the committee members for the questions and comments. On the reflections on migration, it is an interesting point. We conducted our poll in late March, precisely at the time the Minister for Justice sought Cabinet approval to look for the approval of the Oireachtas to opt into the pact. That was very much on the public agenda and in the media news cycle at the time we conducted the poll. There is likely to be some connection.

We are also analysing social media, including conversations on migration and the connection to the EU policy or pact at that time, in the past few weeks and in the run-up to the elections. We have seen people mention the pact, especially at that time. We are trying to see whether that connection continued or if it was a factor just when the issue was in the news. People who are unhappy about the issue of migration and asylum seekers, Ireland accepting asylum seekers and the connection to housing or accommodation of refugees have also referred to the pact and mentioned the EU imposing obligations on Ireland and that we should reject it, opt out and so on. I would not be able to quantify the level of that conversation. It is something we are exploring. We also want to understand how much the Irish public relates one to the other.

In terms of Israel and Gaza, the Deputy's reflections on that are very much accurate. In many countries, not just in Ireland, citizens are taking quite a different position from that of their governments and representatives with, by and large, many citizens protesting for months and demanding an end to the horrors and suffering being inflicted on the Palestinian people. The contrast between the response of the EU to what has happened or is happening in Ukraine and its response to Gaza has not been lost on the Irish public. I am sure the Irish public, as the Deputy said, will have noted how the Government has been ahead. The Government called for a ceasefire long before the EU did so. When some member states cut their funding to UNRWA, the Government increased its funding. Ireland, Spain, Belgium and others have pushed for the recognition of the State of Palestine and so on. That will not have been lost on the Irish public.

It is very hard for us to determine if we can connect this to the response on there being a reduction in support or opinion on whether the EU is moving in the right direction. It is likely to have some impact, but there could be questions or areas we have not covered in our poll that link to why people responded that way.