Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy and a Cheann Comhairle, on a point of information, nobody will be denied a vote whatsoever. This is a democratic Parliament and a democratic country. People are allowed to put down amendments and have votes on those amendments before the substantive vote, and the Deputy's party does that all the time. To try to suggest that is some sort of denial of a vote is deeply disingenuous and deeply wrong, and I want to call out the Deputy on that attempt at disinformation.

The first group of Irish citizens and dependants have been cleared to exit through the Rafah crossing from Gaza into Egypt today. Arrangements are in place for staff from the Irish Embassy in Cairo to meet them and provide them with consular assistance and help for onward travel. We expect more Irish citizens and dependants in Gaza to be on the list in the coming days. We are working really hard to make sure all Irish citizens and their dependants in Gaza who want to leave are able to do so in the next couple of days. I have met the Israeli ambassador, the Egyptian foreign minister and the Palestinian Prime Minister about this, and the Tánaiste has been carrying out meetings as well. I recognise all those who have assisted us and our citizens in being able to have this good news and glimmer of hope to share with people today.

The actions we are taking are the ones we think will be effective. We are providing humanitarian assistance to the UN on the ground in Gaza, in excess of €13 million in recent weeks.

I recognise that 100 UN staff have been killed by Israel in recent weeks. We mourn their loss. They are true heroes. Their lives should not have been taken in the way they were. We support the work of the International Criminal Court. I outlined what we are doing in that regard. We are using our voice at the EU and UN in as effective a way as we can to recentre the position of the EU, in particular, and we are encouraging surrounding countries to show more solidarity with the Palestinian cause than they have to date.

The Deputy knows the EU is divided on this issue for lots of different reasons. We have been extremely active in the past month trying to recentre the European Union's position closer to ours. I have been involved in international affairs for quite some time. I have got some things right and I have got some things wrong. What I know is that there is a way to lead in international affairs and there is a way not to lead. If you go out too far on a limb, you lose influence. You get put in the category where you are not listened to any more. As Tony Blair would have said, if you lead so far in front, nobody can see you-----

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