Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá mé ag roinnt mo chuid ama le mo bheirt comhghleacaí, an Teachta Costello agus duine eile. D'éist mé leis an ráiteas a thug an Teachta Gannon agus bhí an ceart aige. Dúirt sé gur cheart go mbeadh Éire ina teach solais don síocháin, agus tá an ceart aige faoi sin.

Deputy Gannon is absolutely correct to say that Ireland should be a lighthouse for peace. I would strongly argue that is exactly what the Government has done in the past week but also over many decades in regard to Israel and Palestine. We have our own example here of how seemingly hopeless conflict can be resolved through mediation and can continue to be resolved through mediation as well. That will have to happen, but in the case of Israel and Palestine, it has to be based on a two-state solution co-existing together. We simply cannot allow the dream of two states to simply fall by the wayside. That means recognising a state of Palestine but also ensuring that the State of Israel feels secure in itself as well and is not subject to any threats or commentary that somehow dismisses its right to exist. Israel has an absolute right to exist.

I express my sympathies to the people of Israel for what it went through when Hamas terrorists attacked with rockets, gunned them down, killed and kidnapped them last Saturday week. It was absolutely horrific. We saw the Irish fatalities as well. My sympathies go to the families of Kim Damti and Emily Hand as well. It brought home to us the reality of what happened on the ground that day. Let there be no mistake: Hamas is a brutal terrorist organisation, which has not only brutalised and terrorised the people of Israel but it can be argued it has done the same to the people of Palestine, in particular the people of Gaza that it purports to represent and to govern, in a state where it has not held elections since it took power. We must always remember the right of Israel to exist and the right of Palestine and the Palestinian people to exist, prosper and survive as well. The Government, through the Tánaiste today, has announced significant extra funding from Ireland. We have given funding for a number of decades at this stage. It is very important funding. It is welcome and it is showing the leadership that is demanded around the House in terms of what we do.

It should also be noted that the initial response of the Tánaiste and the Government to this particular crisis is the mainstream view around the European Union as things currently stand. The instincts the Tánaiste showed and the considered response he gave to the tragedy in contrast to some other responses showed the depth of leadership that is needed and that will be needed into the future to ensure this situation gets resolved.

My heart goes out to Jewish people all around the world. While I have not seen too many examples of antisemitism in the past week in Ireland, around the world there have been lots of examples of Jewish people suffering for no reason other than their religion. That is wrong and must be called out and condemned at all times. It is one of the great evils of the modern world, if we look back to 1945, and we must always be on our guard with regard to antisemitism in the world, in society and sometimes even here in Ireland.

We must strive for peace. Ireland has used every lever and avenue it has. The contacts the Government has had with the people of Palestine, their government and their representatives and with the government and people of Israel have been at a very high level for a very long time. That will continue. If people listened to what the Irish Government and Irish people are saying, we would make significant progress. That will not be possible in the immediate term with the destruction and violence continuing as we speak.

We also have to be careful and reflect on our sources of information. A great deal of information and misinformation is being thrown at us on an hourly basis and it is reasonable for politicians to spend a little bit of time checking such information out before making statements on it. Sometimes, we can be under pressure from ourselves, from constituents or from the media to respond to things instantaneously. Sometimes, that is not helpful. It is a strength rather than a weakness to take that time to reflect and gather information rather than to respond immediately.

What we do not want is violence. What the Tánaiste and the Government have said is that we need a humanitarian ceasefire to allow aid in. In fairness, Ireland and the other EU member states are providing aid. It needs to get in there to help with the incredible, by which I mean unbelievable, humanitarian crisis that is happening before our eyes on the Gaza Strip in particular but also in the other areas of the Palestinian territories.

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