Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

We are working very closely with the Commission. The Council has taken its own decision and that is the position we have taken on the matter. I do not accept what the Deputy has said, which is that we are funding arms manufacturers and research on how best to kill people. That is not happening. There is a country called Russia. Deputy Seán Crowe criticised us and told us not to use Russia as a bogeyman. I know Sinn Féin Members recently went to Malta to sign a memorandum of understanding on neutrality but, if they had gone to Finland, they would have heard the far left, the far right and everyone in between say that Russia is not a bogeyman but a serious threat to that country and that it must protect itself. We meet interlocutors in Finland and Lithuania. The Lithuanians will be over tomorrow and I am sure they will meet the Deputy's parliamentary group. They will tell the Deputy exactly the same. They do not want war. They want peace but they are determined to protect themselves. That is all they are looking to do. We certainly support their right to protect themselves, as any democracy does.

Deputy Gibney is very genuine in her point of view but she has said that Ireland, as a country, has refused to lead. However, she went on to quote the report on the EU-Israel association agreement. We led the campaign for that report. It was our diplomacy over a long period to get more countries on board that led to it. Despite what Deputy Bennett said, this is not a leaked report from the Commission. It is a report from Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. She was mandated to produce this report. It was not a secret report done by the Commission. The member states of the European Union voted for this to happen. We led on making it happen and having this report published. It was published a few weeks ago. The Council conclusions talk about follow-up to this report. Again, we led on this report.

We could all do more. As I said the last time, the Opposition should criticise Government and look for us to do more. However, I could quote a minister from one particular country who is in the middle ground on this issue. He said that he is not like Ireland and Spain. That is the view. The view is that Ireland and Spain are at one end of the spectrum in the European Union. That is because of our diplomacy and our practical support for the people of Gaza. I believe I heard the Deputy looking for sanctions against Israel outside of the occupied territories Bill. Perhaps I did not pick her up correctly on that but I feel she did. Did she ask for sanctions against Israel rather than just the occupied territories? If she did not, it is fine.

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