Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We teach life, sir.

We Palestinians teach life after they have occupied the last sky.

We teach life after they have built their settlements and apartheid walls, after the last skies.

[...]

We Palestinians wake up every morning to teach the rest of the world life, sir.

These are the words of Palestinian poet, Rafeef Ziadah. They are words that powerfully capture the cry of Palestine to the world, a cry that has reverberated for generations. See us, hear us, stand with us, vindicate our nation and our people, recognise us. Today, the Irish Government at last responded to that cry for justice and Ireland became one of the first western European countries to recognise the State of Palestine. The people of Ireland have always stood with the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom, self-determination, human dignity and peace, conscious of our own history of colonisation, oppression, dispossession, famine and partition. It is a history that has ingrained in the collective consciousness the impetus to confront injustice, inequality and human rights abuses across the world. Today we say again to the Palestinian people: You are not alone. Ireland recognises you, your people and your right to nationhood. We stand on the side of justice, freedom and a just, durable and lasting peace.

Ireland's recognition of the Palestinian state comes as the people of Gaza endure the darkest of moments, as they continue to endure horror on an unimaginable scale, as world leaders continue to draw a false equivalence between the impoverished occupied and the oppressive occupier. By recognising the State of Palestine, we recognise the right of Palestinians to their homeland and to a future free of oppression and war. We recognise the human rights of the Palestinian people, their right to exist as equals in this world. Today's announcement has been a long time coming, too long. Ten years ago, the Dáil voted unanimously in favour of a Sinn Féin motion to recognise the State of Palestine. A decade ago we had cross-party support for this. It should not have taken this long to get here but, of course, it is never too late to do the right thing and this is the right and just thing.

I welcome and acknowledge the incredible work of the current Palestinian ambassador and that of all her predecessors. Long before I was ever elected to the Dáil, I stood with many others outside the gates of Leinster House, calling on, imploring the Government and the European Union to deliver justice for Palestine and its people. Activists have been constant in their commitment to Palestine, relentlessly pushing, standing their ground, standing up for what is right, never giving up and slowly and surely changing the conversation. I, therefore, pay special tribute to activists the length and breadth of this country and beyond who for decades have marched, protested and rallied in solidarity with Palestine and whose steadfast effort has brought us to this day.

See this speech in context