Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

First of all, it is a bit more complex than that. The European Union is divided and member states have different perspectives for historical and other reasons. Ireland has a very strong pro-Palestinian position in terms of the right of the Palestinians to their own state living in harmony with an Israeli state. We work with approximately eight like-minded countries on a number of issues. The vast majority of European Union countries now want an end to the war in some shape or form, and everybody agrees with a two-state solution across the European Union.

The difficulty I see is around issues such as UNWRA which is why this morning we announced €20 million. That is the highest amount ever given to UNWRA. Last year, we initially only allocated around €6 million, which was the norm, but because of the war we increased that towards the end of last year. There will be more demands on us in relation to the reconstruction of Gaza. It has been levelled. Children are being slaughtered, as the Deputy correctly said. We will continue to work with European partners. The first part is to get the European Commission to agree to release funding to UNWRA and then get other member states to do the same.

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