Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To respond to the accusation that as we talk people are dying on the streets of Gaza, that is not fully accurate. I am glad to say we have a ceasefire. Obviously, there was real concern about air strikes in recent days in Gaza. Thank goodness, nobody was fatally injured in those air strikes. There is no country in the EU more vocal on this issue than Ireland and no foreign minister more vocal on it than me. I again used the opportunity, under the current affairs section of the discussions at the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, to raise my concern about these issues and to ask yet again for the European Commission to produce a toolbox so we can really understand the leverage we have and the tools we can use to make sure we get real engagement on some of these issues. There was an indication the new Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs would be invited to meet us in the Foreign Affairs Council. I would welcome that and the opportunity for that discussion. We will continue to focus on ensuring Ireland uses its influence as best we can to move towards a discussion and negotiation for a permanent peace settlement, which is ultimately what this is about.

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