Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I will be sharing my time with Deputy Paul Murphy. I and my party express sorrow over George Floyd's death and our solidarity with his family in the United States. Nobody had heard of George Floyd until a number of days ago. His name is now attached to brutality of racism in the United States. We also send our solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, which is confronting the poison of racism and the police brutality protesters are confronted with. Obviously, these protests are spreading across the world.

Today we rightly condemned oppression and racism that go on across the world. When it comes to racism and oppression in another part of the world, namely, Israel, we have a different tone to it. We criticise it, but there are no consequences for Israeli racism. The Israeli Government has said that in July it will annex a part of land it has already robbed, namely the Jordan Valley. The consequence of this could be the spread of serious disruption and violence across the Middle East. The Tánaiste can do something as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Control of Economic Activities (Occupied Territories) Bill.

He can send a message to the world and the EU, and to Israel, the purveyor of oppression and racism, that we will make a stand against that. Will the Tánaiste make provision in respect of the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 in the new programme for Government?

See this speech in context