Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Does the Taoiseach accept that the general policy of Irish Governments towards the Middle East has had zero effect? It has had no beneficial effect on the lives of those suffering in the region. Does the Taoiseach agree that this is the case because this Government and its predecessors subordinated their policies to those of major imperial powers, such as the United States, Britain, and, latterly, the European Union? The history of such powers in the Middle East has been one of slaughter followed by the theft of natural resources. Does the Taoiseach agree that the Irish Government colluded in the monumental lies relating to weapons of mass destruction told by the United States and Britain to justify the invasion of Iraq?

On Gaza, what has the Irish Government done that might allow it to stand proud in front of the world? What has it done regarding the slaughter of the innocents by the Israeli regime in successive invasions of Gaza? An entire people, confined in horrific conditions in the largest open-air prison camp in the world, has been pulverised, as has its infrastructure. The most recent bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli regime was a crime against humanity. What has the Taoiseach done about this horror, even within the confines of the European Union? Does the Taoiseach feel it is incredible that the state that has perpetrated this horror on an entire people gets preferential trade treatment from the European Union? European Union funds play a role in research programmes that build and design the increasingly horrific weapons that rain from the sky upon the people of Gaza. Does the Taoiseach find this acceptable? I have not heard him object to it.

Does the Taoiseach feel any responsibility to take a stand on the Middle East? If he took a stand the Taoiseach could visit the region and be greeted by ordinary people, but he does not do so. Neither this Government nor its predecessors ever took such a stand.

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