Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank colleagues for raising this first issue. I am conscious as we are sitting in this House and in the time since I have come into this House, there have been significant further developments and escalations in Lebanon with the explosions the Deputies have referred to of walkie-talkies. This follows on yesterday from the explosion of pager devices. This situation should be utterly condemned. It is never acceptable to carry out explosions and attacks among the civilian population. It is not acceptable now and should be condemned by all. It is an unhelpful and dangerous escalation in the region at a time when we need to see de-escalation. Ireland will certainly use its voice at the United Nations General Assembly next week and will continue to engage at all levels and with like-minded countries in respect of what can be done to see a cessation of violence in the Middle East and a stabilisation in the region.

I take the point made by Deputies Ó Murchú, Carthy and others on the occupied territories Bill and its like. I will say inside this House what I have said outside of this House. I think the ruling of the International Court of Justice, ICJ, this summer is significant. The rulings of international courts have to mean something. This is a country that has always supported international courts and I have asked, as have the other coalition leaders in the context of the ICJ ruling, for the Attorney General to look again at a range of these issues and the options available to Ireland. I will keep this House briefed and informed on our deliberations with regard to that. I know the Irish people have strong views on this, and they are views I share, in wanting to see a cessation of violence and being utterly abhorred by the situation we are seeing in the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and now the civilian impact in Lebanon. This is an extraordinarily dangerous and concerning situation and should be condemned by all right-thinking people.

On the points raised by Deputy Tóibín, the Government still sees the way forward is through the EU asylum and migration agreement. The Deputy has a different view on that, which I respect. We had a vote on that in this House and the Government made a decision. I and the Government believe that the way we address these issues is through a common-sense approach at European level. I am sure we will have a chance to tease through this issue again when we have more time. The Government continues to monitor other developments at an EU level. I am not going to comment on the actions of other sovereign member states of the EU other than to say this. I am conscious of all governments, whether it is one with a social democratic or a conservative head, are grappling with the challenge of migration at the moment. I believe the way we are approaching this is the correct way in looking at we how we can improve processing times, have a system that is fair and firm, provide people more quickly with a "Yes" answer if they have a right to be here and a "No" if they do not have a right to be here, and to ensure that our social welfare system is not out of kilter with other European countries. We will work at an EU level on that and we will keep the Houses up-to-date on this issue.

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