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

I have both statements and questions. To start with, I just spoke to Councillor Ger Curley who is an Independent councillor. The worries and concerns of the people of Cobh are for Paddy O'Donovan and the other Irish citizens who have been detained. There are serious concerns in Cobh in regard to Paddy O'Donovan, including among his family. I hope that we convey those concerns to the relevant people. On Tuesday, during my contributions in the Dáil on the flotilla, I stated that all of us in the Independent Ireland party publicly support the humanitarian nature of the global Sumud Flotilla. All of us in the Independent Ireland party call for safe and unhindered passage for all humanitarian aid vessels. All of us in the Independent Ireland party reaffirm Ireland's unwavering commitment to international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians in conflict zones. Yesterday evening Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked: where is world order, where is respect and where are people coming together for peace?

I want to speak plainly about the developments around the global flotilla. Overnight, we saw, not just manoeuvres at sea, but manoeuvrers that carry a terrible human cost. While ships are blocked, men, women and children are going hungry. Ireland knows that pain. We carry it from our history in our bones from the time of the Great Irish Famine. Ships laden with food passed our shores while our people starved on the roadsides. That memory is not just history. It is a warning. When we see supplies prevented from reaching starving people when international law is cast aside in the name of power, we have a duty to speak not just for ourselves but for those who have no voice.

I accept that diplomacy is complex. I accept that nations act in their own interests. However, there comes a point when humanitarian needs must be placed above politics, strategy and every other consideration. Children cannot eat words. They need food. Ireland, of all countries, should not stand silently by. We must insist that humanitarian supplies are allowed safe passage and that the flotilla is not turned into a weapon of starvation. It is not enough to make statements of concern. We must raise our voice at the highest levels, in Brussels, in the UN and in every forum on which we sit. If food is being blocked, it is not only immoral but is a breach of international law that cannot be tolerated.

I appeal to the Tánaiste to remember our own history. He should remember our own Famine and make sure Ireland is not complicit in silence. Let us be the voice that says clearly: never again should food be blocked while people starve.

If the flotilla means anything, it should mean hope and relief, not hunger and not despair. Ireland must use its place to make that clear. I for one will continue to call for it. Will the Tánaiste confirm whether our supplies that are bound for starving civilians have been delayed or obstructed by the interception of the flotilla and what steps Ireland as a neutral country has taken to demand the detainees' immediate release?

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