Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

Tá ár n-iascairí ag dul thar imeall na haille agus beidh na cainteanna cuóta iascaireachta ina nóiméad cinniúnach. Tá na cainteanna nua maidir le cuótaí ag tosú an mhí seo chugainn agus tá ár bpobail chósta ag éileamh toradh atá cóir agus buan. Leis an drochscéal is déanaí faoi pelagic quotas agus titim tubaisteach i stoc cloicheán i Muir Éireann, tá géarghá anois go seasfadh an Rialtas go daingean ar son na hÉireann agus go n-éalódh sé go gcuirfí na Hague preferences i bhfeidhm.

In recent weeks, our coastal communities have suffered another hammer blow with the collapsing pelagic prospects and devastating outlook for Irish sea prawns. These warnings are not theoretical; they are existential for our industry. For years, the Irish fleet has absorbed the impacts of Brexit, shrinking quotas and entrenched inequity in EU allocations and next month's negotiations cannot be another exercise in accepting the least and giving up the most. The Hague preferences were created precisely for countries like ours that are highly dependent, acutely exposed and have long been denied fair treatment. The Government must now stand up for our coastal communities. Ireland cannot walk away empty-handed again. These negotiations must deliver a fair correction. Anything less will accelerate the collapse of coastal livelihoods that have already given more than they can bear.

The Irish people have just delivered the strongest defence of neutrality in decades. The mandate for neutrality is unquestionable. They elected a President who has championed neutrality throughout her political life and they did so by an unprecedented majority. This result is a signal and the Government must listen. People are deeply uneasy about the steady political drift towards military alignment being pushed by a small group of commentators and politicians with a clear agenda. Neutrality is neither symbolic nor outdated. It is the backbone of our independent foreign policy, peacekeeping credibility and capacity to act as honest brokers in a world defined by conflict. People see what is happening with the softened language, blurred commitments and the slow normalisation of military integration. The Government must end the ambiguity and reaffirm that neutrality is not optional. It is a democratic mandate and demands protection.

Israel has never stopped its assault, not for a single day, despite the so-called ceasefire. Killing continues in Gaza. Displacement and siege continue in the West Bank. The machinery of apartheid, land seizures, settlement expansion and economic repression advance openly with the stated intention of closing the door forever on a two-state future. Twice in recent months, hundreds of retired EU and European diplomats have made the legal position unmistakable. When the EU fails to act on sanctions - and it has failed catastrophically; it has looked humanity in the eye and failed it - member states can, and are obliged to, act unilaterally or with willing partners. Ireland cannot hide behind collective paralysis. The Government can no longer wring its hands and say, "Europe will not move so we cannot either". If the EU will not impose sanctions, Ireland must.

The injustice continues because the impunity continues and that cannot remain Europe's position and it certainly must not remain Ireland's.

See this speech in context