Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

We do not have to wait for a European Council meeting to have this matter resolved. We are calling for the immediate and unconditional release of our citizens who are being detained by Israel. We call on Israel to respect its international obligations under the Vienna Convention. We want to ensure full consular access by Irish Embassy officials to those detained - that is still not available to us and we are calling for it to be done immediately.

Israel does not have a leg to stand on in terms of denying us access to our citizens or denying their immediate and unconditional release. We have a situation where those citizens have been brought to Gaza by Israeli authorities who are asking them to sign papers agreeing to their deportation. They are entitled to be released unconditionally and immediately. We are also calling for absolute restraint to be shown in respect of the Irish-owned vessel, the MV Rachel Corrie, so that it can complete its journey peacefully and discharge its humanitarian cargo in Gaza upon arrival. We are also calling for the immediate establishment of a full independent and international inquiry into yesterday's events, preferably under UN auspices. That is our position, and international opinion must continue to impress upon Israel that these actions must be taken if justice is to be seen to be done in this case.

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