Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is a great pity that the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs did not stay for this debate because this goes to the heart of the Irish people's stand against apartheid over the years. In 1984, the workers at Dunnes Stores led the way, and within a few years the Irish Government had followed suit and put in place sanctions and bans against the South African apartheid regime. Ireland led the way in confronting apartheid in the world. How did we get to where we are today? How have we gone so wrong? How did we get to a position where Governments refuse to listen to their own people in regard to the apartheid being inflicted today by the Israeli state on the Palestinian people? How can it be that the Occupied Territories Bill has not been enacted by this Government, a Bill that says we do not do commerce with war criminals? Under international law, what is happening in the Occupied Territories is a war crime. This Dáil has passed that motion yet we do commerce with people involved in war crimes.

Not only that, when we have a Bill like this that says we should stop investing in companies that are involved in these activities, the Government says “Kick it back for nine months, we cannot deal with it now.” How can our Government take a moral stand in the world when it continues to allow commerce to be done with people involved in war crimes, when it cannot stop investing in the businesses involved in war crimes and when it cannot even recognise the state of Palestine? It is utterly shameful how far Governments have fallen from the way we followed the Dunnes Stores workers in 1984.

To be very clear about this, the Irish people will always stand against oppression and apartheid. The Irish people stood against the South African regime and the Irish people stand against the modern-day apartheid being inflicted by the Israeli state today. If the Government refuses to listen to them, the next Government will do what is right, but it should be happening tonight and it should not have to wait until the next election to do what is right by our people.

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