Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I made a point on the value of a secretariat in Question No. 80. The Minister has acknowledged it represents a way forward, which I appreciate. His own long list of unfinished business makes the case again for the secretariat. I do not share the Minister's view on the Arab League. The league switches on and off the issue in a fairly intermittent way.

While the talks may be at the point of breakdown in regard to the settlement issue, there were other dimensions, including those the Minister has listed, that could have created some prospect of progress, such as the release of prisoners or addressing the issue on east Jerusalem. Does the Minister agree?

Following on Deputy Barrett's point, there is no agreement on the shape of a contiguous, independent, viable Palestinian state. That is the issue. I repeat that if there is an extension beyond Ma'ale Adumim across the Jordan valley, one will have created such obstacles that there cannot be a contiguous, viable Palestinian state. We have been saying for decades that a two-state solution is the issue but there is no agreement on what is required in terms of an international legal order to establish that. That is where the Arab League could have been more active.

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