Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

All I can do is try to use my time to highlight that as a committed European who believes in the European project, but not in the context of the direction in which it is going. It lost its moral compass a long time ago. We are heading for a militarised Europe and a fortress Europe. I say that reluctantly because I have very good contact with some of the countries in Europe. We have very definite language on Ukraine and the illegal invasion by Russia, and we have very comprehensive support for the Ukraine initiatives and a rebuilding programme.

Then we look at Gaza. There is not the same language at all. We talk about humanitarian assistance. We talk about a ceasefire, which is the most basic thing and which would bring an end to people being slaughtered. We are not doing that. We are trading with Israel. America and Europe are sending arms and Israel is slaughtering people and committing genocide, but we have an agenda that does not reflect any of this. It refers to security, but we are endangering world security. We were told that less than a month after the Hamas invasion, which was wrong. When I say invasion, I mean its incursion across the border. Then there was the reaction by Israel which was out of all proportion and is genocidal. We were told it was a crisis for the world by the UN at that time. I have come in without my glasses so Members might forgive me, but it was highlighted that that is what happened. On 7 November, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that at that point it was becoming a “graveyard for children” and that “The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a crisis of humanity”. I do not see that reflected anywhere.

The Minister of State is a committed European. As women, we have to look at the world differently. If we want to make a difference in politics, we should not continue with business as is. This is not anti-men, but that vision has got the world into the mess it is in. It is time for us to take it in a different direction. How many more people have to be slaughtered in our name? Some 37,396 Palestinians have been killed and 85,523 have been injured. How many reporters, human rights activists and organisations are going to be designated as terrorists with absolutely no evidence of that whatsoever? At what stage do we, as independent, sovereign Republic, say “Do not do this in our name. We will use our voice in a different way”? I hope the Minister of State is going to tell me that legislation will not be rushed through the Dáil in the next two weeks to loosen the triple lock.

I go back to something Deputy Gannon said. I wish the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, the best in Europe. What type of deal, if any ,has been done in relation to his appointment? If we look at the promises mentioned already by those who were successful in becoming MEPs for Fianna Fáil, they said they would not support von der Leyen. The Minister of State cannot answer for them, but surely the Government must know whether or not they will be voting for von der Leyen. This is somebody who has stood shoulder to shoulder with Netanyahu and who stands over a trade agreement that is completely against the articles in the agreement about human rights. Power is all that matters to the woman. At what stage will she say “No”?

I deplore what has happened with Ukraine. I also deplore what we have done with those who came here in dividing refugees from each other. I absolutely deplore that. I read out earlier on a situation in Galway where people who have got status are being given an eviction notice when there is nowhere to go. All of that was created by a Government policy that distinguished Ukrainian refugees under the directive from other asylum seekers. This just created division. I will not go over time because I am so strict on time when I am in the Chair.

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