Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

We will be supporting this motion to end the Central Bank of Ireland's facilitation of Israeli bonds. As a representative of the people of west Cork, which was profoundly impacted by the Great Famine, I have a personal connection to the suffering of the Gazans today. I repeat myself when I say we are here to protect life and dignity without taking sides. Ireland is trusted because we do not serve geopolitical interests. Starvation as a weapon is a breach of international law. The deliberate denial of food and aid is collective punishment. It is a war crime.

We know from our history during the Great Famine and from the oppression visited on us, the Irish, by others that there is a devastating impact from such actions. The Irish Government has a legal and moral duty to act to avoid complicity in Israel's genocide. If we do not end the Central Bank's facilitation of Israeli bonds, we are no better than those who profited from shipping produce out of Ireland while people starved. If our history means anything, we must act to alleviate famine wherever we find it. We see every day the images from this war and the starvation of the very young and the very old. It is time this stops. Food is a basic human need and if we can help, we must. The Government must end the Central Bank's role in the facilitation of these bonds. There is clear and independent Oireachtas legal advice that the State has authority to do this.

It is quite ironic that the Social Democrats are presenting this motion given the recent controversy involving one of their TDs and his sale of shares in Palantir technologies, a company that supplies technology to the Israeli military. This raises serious ethical concerns. They are talking out of both sides of their mouths. I call into question their maturity and ability, before advocating for the high ethical standards in their motion.

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