Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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What we are really debating here is the idea of what constitutes terrorism, who gets to define it and who gets to throw that at another person. The definition of terrorism is really important because it has evolved over the centuries. I think if first came from the regime that did the terror in the French Revolution, under Maximilien Robespierre, which is very state-identified terrorism. This legislation seems to absolve a very particular of terrorism offence, and I know this is not the Minister's personal belief, which are the ones we witness on our screens every day, namely, the starvation, the eradication of people, including medics, their journalism and the culture of a particular state. That is a form of terrorism and I question the idea that someone who participates in that can still come to our country and be absolved of that. I understand that the Minister says it is still a criminal offence but it has not been judged in that way. I take what he says about the idea of a criminal offence under the ICC and ICJ but Israel does not operate in accordance with that and we have not applied those standards. They are not being applied across the world. There still will be people who come here who have been complicit in atrocities like that who will not be held to account by our courts. That simply will not happen. It does not and will not happen and this legislation does not create anything by which we have greater strength to do that.

Enforcing the descriptions, as Deputy Kelly advocates and as Deputy Carthy's earlier amendment outlined, would give us legal strength but in their absence, we do not have the power. We will just have words and nothing else. People who have been involved in atrocities like those we are witnessing on our screens can still come here and have free rein to advocate for, promote or champion the slaughter in which they have been complicit. We have an opportunity with this legislation to strengthen our own hands.