Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to ask the Taoiseach about three issues that may have been discussed at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on European Affairs. I know the Taoiseach is limited in terms of what he can say. The first relates to the motion committing this State to taking in 200 children from the former migrant camp in Calais. The Taoiseach knows that the Ministers for Justice and Equality and Children and Youth Affairs travelled to Greece and France to discuss this. Can we be updated on these plans?

I again raise the issue of Palestine and the Taoiseach's downright stubborn refusal to follow through on the Oireachtas motion that acknowledged the state of Palestine. He knows that the Israeli Government will build another 566 new settler homes in east Jerusalem. An internal report by EU member states' ambassadors to the Palestinian territories filed only last month has warned of a loss of hope among Palestinians. From my contacts in that region, I know that this is the case. The ambassadors' report called on the EU to send a message that Israel must stop its settlement policy. I have raised this question with the Taoiseach at least a dozen times. He has just dodged the issue, has given me a fudged and ambiguous answer and has refused to send a message of hope to the people of Palestine. Will he formally agree to recognise the state of Palestine, for which the Oireachtas voted?

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