Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming in this evening. How can we justify our allies' role in the genocide happening in Gaza? Can we stand by and say nothing? The simple answer is that we cannot. I refer to the line used by our allies, namely, that Hamas carried out its attack first. This was an attack that this Parliament was united in condemning, but an attack the UN Secretary General said, "did not happen in a vacuum". Our allies have said that every country has a right to self-defence, which of course is true. What we have witnessed in the last number of months and weeks, however, has been the cold-blooded slaughter of innocent people and of an entire civilisation.

We should not, then, smile and shake hands with allies across the globe who have both the influence and power to bring about the necessary change without expressing outrage regarding what is happening and demanding that it stops. Ireland is a small country, but thanks to decades of international peacekeeping duties undertaken by our Defence Forces, decades of missionary work and the contribution our diaspora has made right across the globe, we as a small country carry influence disproportionate to our size. Next week, we will see this demonstrated in abundance. We will have 38 St. Patrick's Day missions travelling across the globe, 11 of which are going to the USA. I wish all the Ministers and Ministers of State luck in their travels.

These St. Patrick's Day missions are about building cultural ties and supporting the great work the IDA and Enterprise Ireland are doing continuously to increase trade for our country. It is also, however, about taking a moral stand. To me, the definition of a good friend is someone who will tell me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear. This year, we must use our special relationship and deep friendship with the USA in this regard. Next week is an opportunity to really make a difference. Next week, we, as a Government, and our representatives abroad, must ensure that President Biden and his entire Administration, and the administration in every country our representatives visit, know just how strongly we as a country feel about this war. It is a war that goes against the very grain of humanity and that disgusts the vast majority of men, women and children on our island.

We must build alliances to ensure that an immediate ceasefire happens and there is immediate access to aid. I say this because we must all have been horrified by the scenes last week of aid being blocked and children dying of starvation. We must build alliances to bring about trade sanctions in respect of the occupied territories. We should look at working with other countries to see if there may be a mechanism whereby families in Ireland and other countries can sponsor families in Palestine and establish a refugee programme. Go raibh maith agat.

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