Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is no reflection on the Minister of State, who is here to do a job, but it is a pity the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is not here. The original script the Minister of State was forced to read here was one of the most crawling speeches I have heard in this House. It seems to lay the blame for on inaction on us. He said that we seek to achieve in reality, not just in words. When we tabled the motion in this House and in the Seanad we understood it was not empty words; we were looking for action from the Government on foot of a motion passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas.

The Minister of State asked if this was an appropriate step. It is always appropriate for an independent state to recognise another independent state, especially given that more than 70% of the UN countries have already done so. Not one person voted against those motions in these Houses. It is deplorable that no action has been taken. Even the recent action to deal with the issue of settlement goods was taken on foot of the EU and not by the Government despite a motion and calls from this side of the House and by me, not under this Government but under the previous one, for this State to take actions. It has not done so because it always seems to want to wait until some other country takes action. In this case Deputy Crowe has mentioned the other countries that have taken action. They had the will to stand up against the Israelis and what they have done in that region for many years. I reiterate not only the content of the motion to which I have referred but also the call to immediately suspend the EU trade agreements, to expel the ambassador, to boycott settlement goods, and also to encourage Irish companies to disinvest from Israel and to impose the sanctions required. Those are the actions, not words, required.

See this speech in context