Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of Russians ships off our coast, as others have done. I express concern about this. It is of a particular concern when we note just how brutally Russia continues to bombard Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities this week, more than a year after the brutal invasion of Ukraine. I express solidarity with the people of Ukraine as this awful war continues.

What is the Government's position on the occupied territories Bill? A picnic organised by Amnesty International will take place tomorrow outside Leinster House to highlight the apartheid against the Palestinian people and ongoing repressions of Palestinians by the Israeli Government. I note my solidarity with all those impacted by the violence in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. I again ask when the Government will undertake further progress of the occupied territories Bill. Others have raised this issue. It is supported on a cross-party basis. It was initiated by Senator Frances Black in the Seanad. I had the honour of supporting her, as others did. It is long past time to take a lead on that.

I ask for a update on Bernard Phelan, the French-Irish citizen who has been sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment in Iran and on whose behalf many efforts are being made to secure his release. What is the Government doing to ensure he is released in a speedy fashion?

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