Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

Tá roinnt ama caite agam i nGaza agus bhí seans agam a bheith ann in 2000. I visited Gaza for the first time in 2000. At that time, believe it or not, it was possible to get a bus down through Israel to the border at Rafah and cross into Egypt. That happened for a brief period. I was also there in 2005 after the disengagement from the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. These are, therefore, people and places I actually know. What is happening there defies description and certainly defies justification. It is not just heart-wrenching but horrific and nightmare-inducing, so much so that I find it difficult to watch some of the coverage available, not on mainstream media but certainly online, where it is possible to see what is happening to ordinary, innocent people just trying to live their lives.

I have listened to what all the speakers have said in this debate and I absolutely agree with the upset it causes to people. We also need to look at what we can do to resolve this and what we are doing. I am proud of what Irish people have done and the stance Irish people have taken, despite people telling us it is against our economic interest, for example, in terms of our relationship with the United States. I welcome that we as a people feel that affinity with the people of Gaza and of Palestine in general and that we understand how important an issue this is. I share the frustrations of people who feel that Ireland is not doing enough but we should recognise that actually Irish politicians have led the way on this subject in Europe and in the world. The Irish Government was the first to really call out what Israel was doing in the aftermath of the attacks in October 2023, which cannot be justified. Hamas must accept responsibility for sacrificing a civilian population on the altar of its political ambition. There are no two ways about that.

What has happened since then has not just been grossly disproportionate and criminal on an industrial and international scale, but genocidal and contrary to all humanity and all law. I welcome, therefore, that Ireland is beginning to build a coalition at European level and that Ministers have gone to Europe and persuaded other countries to follow us, whether that is in terms of making the statement that we are not happy about what is happening to recognising the State of Palestine, to talking about imposing actual restrictions and penalties on Israel in terms of trade. However insufficient that may seem, it is what we can do. I am proud that Irish politicians and the Irish Government are doing this.

I am not trying to make a political speech and I am not trying to say we are great because it is beyond frustrating how powerless we are to stop this from happening. However, I will say this in a political context, though: as a proud European and chair of the European affairs joint committee here in the Oireachtas, I am infinitely disappointed by the failure of the European Union to deal with this. I am really worried that this failure of a response is going to fracture the positive relationship Irish people have with the Union. I say that in a context of my party colleagues in the EPP being President of the Commission and President of the European Parliament, both of whom went to Israel in the aftermath of the attacks in October 2023 and stood next to Israeli Ministers who were opening saying they were going to break international law. They said they stood with them. That is unforgivable. They have apologised for it, but it is not enough. One of the things we must do as a polity is convince our European colleagues that we have to stand together. If Europe cannot act together on this issue, then Europe will be ineffective in a way we have not seen previously. I am disappointed, but we have an opportunity as international diplomats to do something about it and we must call on our European colleagues to do that as well.

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