Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy said this is a moment for the Government to articulate its leadership in human rights, or words to that effect. The Government has been demonstrating its leadership in human rights for quite some time and since this war began, consistently and strongly. We have been consistent in our support of the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination and in condemning the war crimes and genocide occurring right now in Israel.

We have provided strong humanitarian support, but also political support, to UNRWA, which Israel has sought to undermine. We have done that consistently, not only as an individual country but in persuading other member states of the European Union to do likewise when UNRWA was under attack from the Government of Israel. We have worked with others to evacuate sick child from Gaza for treatment and care on an ongoing basis.

This day last year, Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, recognised the State of Palestine. Slovenia followed. We did that in partnership with the Arab states, despite being harangued and attacked by the Deputy on this very issue. We knew what we were doing well in advance. We tried to get as many countries as we possibly could on board and to persuade as many other EU member states. We did not get as many as we wanted at the time and we did it as part of a peace process.

On 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, and the Attorney General, on behalf of the Government, made a submission to the court in respect of this. We had made a written submission and the Attorney General followed up. We subsequently co-sponsored a resolution, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 September, which seeks to implement the court's advisory opinion.

Ireland intervened in South Africa's International Court of Justice case against Israel under the Genocide Convention. Again, the Deputy attacked us in advance of that, wrongly and in an ill-informed way because she just saw it as politics. We did it substantively, with capacity and in an informed legal way and we are hoping that we will broaden the criteria by which genocide is judged by the Genocide Convention. Please do not lecture me on the Irish Government's commitment to human rights and to the rights of Palestinians to self-determination, which will continue.

We are progressing legislation on the occupied territories Bill. I know what will happen as soon as that is passed. The Deputy will say what she has said about everything else we have done - that it was just symbolic at the time and her party now wants action again. I have listed all the action. There is a pattern here, which is to try to drive a wedge-----

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