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

I recognise Deputy Haughey for talking about the Year of the French in 1798. It is fascinating how it still lives on in our folk memory even though it was a relatively small force and ultimately unsuccessful. It led to the creation of Ireland's first republic, the short-lived Republic of Connacht. We know from historical accounts that people were impressed to see a citizen army in operation in a way they had not seen previously. It helped inspire our own form of republicanism - genuine republicanism - in the following centuries.

Concerning my conversation with Prime Minister Borne, it was a few weeks ago, before the ceasefire was in place. Our focus was on a ceasefire rather than the medium or long term. It was also a day or two after, I think, she participated in the anti-Semitism march in Paris. We talked about that and the concerns we both have about rising anti-Semitism and rising Islamophobia. From the Irish Government's point of view, we very much welcome the ceasefire in Gaza. It has facilitated the release of hostages taken by Hamas and prisoners taken by Israel, many of whom are teenage boys, in some cases subject to administrative detention for throwing stones. It has also allowed humanitarian aid and supplies into the territory, which is really important. We are calling for an extended ceasefire so that all hostages can be released - all hostages should be released - civilians can get further relief and the killing can stop. When we say ceasefire, to be clear, we mean a ceasefire observed by all sides and parties in the conflict.

EU aid to Palestine has trebled. We increased our aid to the occupied Palestinian territories through UNRWA and other bodies. We are not in favour of new unnecessary restrictions on aid. We know from the aid we and the EU provide to the area that if there is evidence of it being somehow misappropriated, it is extremely weak. I welcome the report on that.

Concerning sanctions, I can only say what I said before. I do not believe sanctions work if they are unilateral. They would likely backfire because there would be retaliation, which is the truth. The whole point of one country imposing sanctions on another is that it should do more harm to the country on which you impose sanctions than to yourself. Sanctions can only work if they are done on a multilateral basis. They only worked in respect of South Africa because they were multilateral.

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