Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have no hesitation in supporting the motion. I note that the language was strengthened from the original motion from the committee in the name of the former Minister for Justice. I have no difficulty with that.

However, I have to balance that by saying the strength and speed of the reaction screams out in respect of our failure to act up to now on Palestine, Poland, Hungary and other countries to which I will come back. We should be mindful of the role that America has played and continues to play in destabilising many countries in the world, especially in Latin America and Central America.

I welcome the motion and have no hesitation in saying it. I also welcome that the International Civil Aviation Organization is conducting an investigation. We will wait to see what happens but I have no doubt those responsible have completely transgressed international law and acted completely without legal authority. I have no problem in saying that.

On 24 May the EU Council adopted conclusions on Belarus at its summit one day after the plane was taken from the sky. We have economic sanctions banning overflight of EU airspace by Belarus. The statement calls on all EU carriers to avoid overflight of Belarus and correctly demands the immediate release of the journalist and his girlfriend.

What do we do about Poland? There are lesbian, gay and LGBTI-free zones and increased levels of people being arrested. The country has rowed back on abortion rights. In Hungary we have seen the erosion of the rule of law, academic freedom and media independence. I could go on but my time is limited.

The volume of trade between the EU and Israel speaks volumes. In 2020 the figure amounted to €31 billion. The trade between the EU and Saudi Arabia amounted to €40 billion.

We have taken no moral stance, or any other stance, with regard to Israel or Saudi Arabia. Jamal Khashoggi - and I apologise if I have mispronounced his name - was shockingly murdered in Turkey in 2018 and Saudi Arabia has been bombing Yemen since 2015. Some countries, such as Germany, have done the right thing and banned arms trade with Saudi Arabia. Others have not. France was the third largest exporter of arms to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. I will finish in the coming seconds but, if we want to remain a credible influencer in the world, we must look in the mirror and judge this action by the same standards as all these other actions. Let us look have a look at our approach to Palestine, Poland, Hungary and other countries and change that approach.

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