Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I assume that since the Taoiseach has left the Chamber he is probably not interested in hearing what I have to say. I guess the role of the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, is to relate what is said and to be party to the discussion even if he is not going to Europe.

I echo what nearly everybody has said here, namely, that there needs to be a very clear, strong message sent to both the European Union, the Tory party and the DUP that in no sense whatsoever will there be a hard border in this country. It is interesting to note Arlene Foster's language in that regard given that she had a special meeting with the Taoiseach and with the leader of the Fianna Fáil Party yesterday. I am not referring to the language she used in those meetings but to language she used in the past when she asserted in terms of the Border that no special arrangements should be created for the North. She described the issue as being a red line that is blood red for her party. What dangerous and alarming language to use in the context of our recent history. Nevertheless, she does not seem to care that that is the case, nor does she care if there is no deal between the European Union and Britain. She further does not care if there is huge economic disruption as a result of a no-deal Brexit. For her and for the DUP, the only question is, as always, the preservation of partition.

However, I also believe that Arlene Foster has an added incentive to ratchet up her unionist message, namely, because she is up to her neck in the cash-for-ash scheme or the renewable heating incentive scandal. Money was doled out to her supporters in the DUP in a blatant scam. Probably the best example of that is the fact her own special adviser had 11 boilers in the scheme. That added up to a hell of a lot of money. It suits her now to increase the rhetoric about the union and to warn against any special arrangements for the North. However, she has a problem given that the majority of people in the North, both Catholic and Protestant, voted to remain. It is a matter of elementary democracy that they get the arrangements that suit them, which specifically includes no hard border. In order to ensure that happens, People Before Profit in Northern Ireland will be demanding a vote on any final settlement between the UK and the EU. The European Union should be told in no uncertain terms by the Taoiseach and the Government that it will not sign up to any deal until the people are satisfied with it. That should help to ensure that there is no backsliding in the final months of this endgame. In the meantime, Arlene Foster and the European Union need to hear a strong message from the Taoiseach that is loud and clear. There should be no customs posts and no checks on the Border and any attempt to erect them will be opposed by a massive movement of people power and non-co-operation, in particular by the State.

I wish to raise another important issue that is miles away from Brexit. I refer to a serious issue that has arisen involving an Irish doctor from Mullingar who has gone to Gaza with 80 kg of special medical equipment for children. That equipment has been seized by the Israeli authorities and it is desperately needed by the people of Gaza, in particular the children of Gaza. I hope the issue will be close to the Taoiseach’s heart, given that he himself is a doctor.

The Israelis are showing brazen contempt for humanitarian intervention and the number of dead and injured, including amputees among children, in Gaza beggars belief. There is a deliberate campaign to fire shots at the lower part of children's bodies to disengage them and that has led to very serious medical issues for children in the Gaza region.

There are routine seizures of medical equipment. I accept that the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, raised the issue in Brussels last May, but it must be raised again. I appeal to the Taoiseach to pressurise the European Union ambassador to Israel to ensure the release of the 80 kg of much needed medical equipment that has been brought to Gaza by an Irish doctor who has taken two weeks off work to carry out humanitarian work, and that it is given to the people of Gaza who desperately need it.

I wish to refer to what Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF, said about the injuries and deaths of children. Last May, Jonathan Whittall, the head of MSF, said that many of the children who are injured are less than 15 years old and that the majority of them are shot with live ammunition in the bottom of their bodies and many require amputation. He said they would be disabled for the rest of their lives. That unacceptable and inhumane treatment has to be opposed by the Government directly to the EU and in particular representing the interests of an Irish doctor who is carrying out a humanitarian mission. We need that medical equipment to be released.

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