Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government is supporting the people of Palestine. We are providing funding. This week, the Government announced additional funding for the International Criminal Court and the Tánaiste has announced €13 million in humanitarian assistance funding for the Palestinian people, comprising €10 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and €3 million for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. We are providing direct practical support for the people of Palestine. For some time now, we have been very clear in what we have been calling for. We are seeing more and more EU countries and other jurisdictions coming to the view that Ireland has been espousing, which is that there should be a complete and immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The guns and the bombs should stop. Ultimately, the only way to achieve peace is through dialogue.

We know about this on our own island. We know our history. Ireland is a respected voice on this issue because of our own historical experience on this island. We are continuing to work through all of those channels and we are glad that 23 Irish citizens left Gaza yesterday through the Rafah Border Crossing and we expect that more will be in a position to do so today. We want to see the release of all of the hostages, including little Emily Hand, and all of the others.

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