Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the aid given by the Government and acknowledge the Minister's statement. I congratulate others who have tried to ensure aid gets to Gaza, which is still under a siege imposed against international law. There was a humanitarian crisis in the area prior to the recent onslaught by Israel, which the attack has worsened.

Does the Minister agree that it would be appropriate for some government to make a gesture towards a group such as the Free Gaza Movement, which has organised siege-breaking trips from Cyprus on boats, one of which was rammed in December to a great cost for the charitable organisation? Would it not be appropriate for the Government to fund the fuel for one of those trips or even encourage the Irish Naval Service to escort the vessels when they go in a flotilla in May? When I and a colleague of the Minister's, Deputy Chris Andrews, travelled on one such boat, the Israeli navy shadowed us most of the way in.

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