Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. As this is my maiden speech, I would like to start by thanking my colleagues, supporters, friends, family and partner without whom I would not be here. I thank the people of Dublin Rathdown for giving me the honour of representing them in this Thirty-fourth Dáil. I worked hard to get their votes and I will work hard to serve them. I connected with many of them through canvassing and I will connect with many more of them through my constituency work. Táim buíoch as ucht na muiníne atá acu ionam. Déanfaidh mé mo dhícheall dóibh gach lá mar Teachta Dála.

People think of Dublin Rathdown as a homogenous area of affluence and political conservatism, but having campaigned across this constituency that is not my experience. I met many voters during the campaign who are struggling to make ends meet, who cannot access the most basic services they require to simply live lives of dignity and who are living in their childhood homes decades past their point of choosing because our national housing crisis is so entrenched. These people want to see change. They support a progressive left vision of governance for this country. As Social Democrats we share this vision - public services people can rely on, transparency and accountability in Government and political leadership and honesty in their representatives. The type of politics that will ultimately help this country to thrive.

The hallmarks of my time as a representative here will be integrity, honest and hard work. I will say things in this Chamber that I have considered, that I believe in and that are worthy of national debate. I will treat with respect and dignity all other Members, staff and the media in advancing my constituency and portfolio work. I am truly honoured that the first topic I speak on is the occupied territories Bill. I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion, and Senator Black and everybody who has worked for the past seven years on this particular Bill.

Our party, the Social Democrats, has stood firm on Palestine, pushing for Ireland to go beyond words and into actions. These actions must include the enactment of the occupied territories Bill and for the Irish Government to take every possible step to uphold the Genocide Convention and the ruling of the International Court of Justice in opposing illegal occupation and genocide. In the previous Dáil we tabled a motion calling for the Government to progress and enact the occupied territories Bill and in the twilight of the previous term, we offered up our Private Members' time to facilitate this. I am proud to be a member of a party that has followed through on our support of Palestine with real actions. Táim bródúil as ucht a bheith anseo inniu chun leanúint ar aghaidh leis an obair seo.

This country has a proud history in opposing apartheid and in defending principles of peace and human rights on the world stage. Ordinary people up and down this country want to see us honour that history. The connection the Irish people have with the people of Palestine runs deep. It comes from an understanding of occupation that many other European countries simply do not have. It sets us up to be leaders in this space and to show our fellow EU member states what it means to stand up and resist the occupier, the bully, the warmonger. We should have been the first country to recognise the State of Palestine. We should have been the first to go to the ICJ, and we should now be the first western country to bring about these meaningful sanctions. We must stand strong on the principle that it is wrong to trade in goods and services from illegally occupied land, and that is what this Bill does.

Anything less is a failure to fulfil our duties under international law, and a mandate of the Irish people, who have been overwhelmingly vocal on this issue. This is true whether it is in Ukraine, Western Sahara, the Golan Heights or Palestine. Is é an rud ceart le déanamh a bhí ann nuair a tugadh isteach an Bille um Chríocha faoi Urghabháil in 2018. It was the right thing when it passed Second Stage in 2019. Is é an rud ceart a bhí ann nuair a gealladh é i bhforógraí toghcháin in 2020 and 2024. It was the right thing last year when the Social Democrats tabled a motion calling for it to be progressed agus is é an rud ceart le déanamh atá ann anois.

In advancing this Bill, we must not be hindered by platitudes of economic consequences and disapproval from multinational corporations. Trade is a critical component of our economic stability but human life is not a bargaining chip. Our obligations under international law, laws that protect the rights of every person to live in peace and dignity, are paramount. If the Government wishes to trade away those obligations then I, on behalf of the Irish people, ask it to name what price exactly it plans to put on them. We are at a delicate time in our global history where the rules of international law that we all signed up to are under daily and increasing threat. World leaders are emboldened by the lack of sanction for the escalation of violence and occupation around the world. Leaders ranging from brutal dictators to the elected President of the United States are openly talking about the business and money to be made from the very worst atrocities that humanity is capable of. It is at times like these we must remember the principles international law is founded upon. The preamble to the UN Charter states:

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED

to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and

to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and

to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained,

If we do not stand firm in upholding international law, in rejection of war, ethnic cleansing and genocide profiteering as legitimate business, we contribute to making a more dangerous, violent and brutal world.

Since my first day as a TD, my inbox has been full of people pleading with me and the rest of Dáil Éireann to progress the occupied territories Bill. The people of Ireland despair at the images and horror they have seen over the past year and a half and at the lack of action from their representatives. It is as disappointing today as it was at the height of South African apartheid to see the establishment dragging its heels while the Irish people take to the streets and demand that they do the right thing. I knocked on one door in the run-up to the election, which I will never forget. I met a family behind that door who had just stepped away from their dinner table, where they had collectively cried following what they had seen on the day's news in Gaza. That is why I am here tonight to support this motion to call for the progression of the occupied territories Bill and to call for saoirse don Phalaistín.

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