Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this Bill to the House. I refer to the legal opinion the party received. The Minister might have looked at it. It said there was a strong argument for putting forward this Private Members' Bill based on public policy. They see no difficulty in putting that forward based on public policy. "Public policy" is a phrase the Minister did not use. The Minister also did not refer to international law and did not use the word "genocide". I listened carefully to the Minister. He was very specific in the different things he said. The Minister told us these bonds were not listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and he talked about the absence of detail from Sinn Féin. The Minister then went on to give other specific technical reasons the Government cannot do this and why we can play Pontius Pilate and help the Central Bank to play Pontius Pilate and wash our hands of genocide.

Let me just look at what we are saying with these war bonds that are helping to carry out genocide in our name while we stand idly by. As the Minster knows well, since 2021, the Central Bank has a role in approving the issuing of the prospectus of these bonds following an analysis of the prospectus. This prospectus must be looked at by the Central Bank on the basis of the three Cs. We used to have the three Rs at school and now we have the three Cs. The bank looks at it from the completeness, consistency and comprehensibility points of view. They passed those three criteria and so the Central Bank is obliged, according to the Minister and the Central Bank, to give the thumbs up to war bonds. I believe this is absolute rubbish, to put it mildly. It is an utter failure to look at our obligations under Irish law, under international law, and under the Genocide Convention.

Let us look at Irish law in relation to the Central Bank. Section 5A of the Central Bank Reform Act says: "The Bank is required to perform its functions and exercise its powers in a manner consistent with the Rome Treaty and the ESCB Statute." Then there is the functioning of the Treaty of Rome, from which the Minister chose selectively. I will give the Minister another article. Article 3.5 in the consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union says:

In its relations with the wider world, the Union shall uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to peace, security, the sustainable development of the Earth [not just Europe], solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of the child [the children we see burning on our screens; an obligation to protect the rights of the child] as well as to the strict observance and the development of international law, including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter.

The Minister did not quote any of that. The Minister did not quote any of the obligations on him as an individual, as a Minister in the Government, on me as an individual, and on the Central Bank and on the individuals in there to examine in a wider context and move out of the three Cs. It is an absolute insult to tell us they are restricted to looking at completeness, consistency and comprehension. Anybody that understands anything from the word "comprehension" it is to look at what is happening here.

To educate myself even further in this area, about which I did not know much until now, I went on the website to look at what Israel is telling us. Israel is telling us it is full of hope. On the website advertising its war bonds it says "We are filled with hope" and they want to "Invest in Life". Can you imagine that? It says "We are filled with hope" and they want to "Invest in Life", and that their returns are great and that there is a huge surge in interest in this. Then we look at the broader picture and they tell us the risks for those investors who are going to invest. In genocide the risks are the volatility. Can you imagine that Israel has the arrogance to tell us of the volatility in the Middle East, the volatility caused by Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza and Palestine. They have that up as a risk factor as if they are not part of that problem themselves, such is their blindness, but I am wasting my time condemning Israel and its Government.

My effort is to get us to make language mean something. So, we recognise Palestine when there is almost nothing left to recognise. We failed to push the occupied territories Bill. We let troops and arms through Shannon, through the air and through the airport. We trade with Israel through Europe and we have done nothing. We stood idly by when Amnesty said Israel is operating an apartheid regime. Does the Minister know what his Government told us? It told us that is was uncomfortable with the word "apartheid" and that it did not really like that word. It failed to have a discussion in this House on Israel operating an apartheid regime.

We stood by when five human rights organisations were labelled as terrorists and their offices ransacked. We stood idly by when we saw starvation used as an appalling weapon of war and Palestinian people being pushed into ever-decreasing space and being told it is safe. We stood idly by as we watched a woman see nine of her ten children obliterated, killed and slaughtered. She is left with one child and a husband.

I could mention many more cases. I will not because it takes from the suffering of all of those who have died, and those who are alive but suffer, as we double-speak from both sides our mouth. Tadhg an dá thaobh comes to mind when I listen to what is coming from the other side of the House. Indeed, I paid tribute to one of the Government's backbenchers lately, who made the best speech in the Dáil on what Israel is actually up to. The Government might look at Deputy Colm Burke's speech in this House from a few days ago. It is one of the best speeches. I ask myself, how can he be a member of this Government that is standing idly by? I support this Bill and thank Sinn Féin.

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