Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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Question 4: To ask the Minister for Defence his plans to visit Irish troops serving in Lebanon; and if he will use the opportunity to visit Gaza and extend Irish solidarity to the oppressed Palestinian people. [25255/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to inform the House that I will make my first visit to Irish troops serving overseas when I will accompany President McAleese on her official visit to Lebanon next month. The programme for the proposed visit which is being arranged by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will include a visit to Camp Shamrock, the headquarters of the 104th Irish Battalion deployed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, otherwise known as UNIFIL. I am looking forward to accompanying the President on her visit to the camp and meeting Irish personnel, many of whom I met prior to their departure to Lebanon. The personnel have been deployed to UNIFIL in southern Lebanon since June this year and we will witness at first hand the dedication and professionalism of our military personnel serving with the mission.

A visit to Gaza is not included in the itinerary for the presidential visit.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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I am glad the Minister is to visit the troops in Lebanon, although I am not sure of the timescale for the visit. The purpose of the question was to make the point that, given that the Minister would be in the region, it would it be an ideal opportunity to lead from the front and extend solidarity with the people of Gaza by attempting to incorporate a visit there? I would like the Minister to comment on this point. Earlier in the year a vessel on which Irish citizens were travelling was sabotaged by Israel in attempting to bring aid to Gaza. It remains the case that 66% of the people in Gaza are food insecure, that 80% rely on foreign aid and that 300,000 people are living on less than $1 a day. These figures have probably worsened dramatically since the start of the blockade of Gaza. Does the Minister not consider that in his role as Head of State of the Defence Forces he should use the opportunity presented by the visit to the region to attempt to make a visit to Gaza to extend solidarity? Will he respond specifically to this part of the question?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her suggestion I am Head of State, but I have not yet been elevated to that particular post and do not anticipate ever seeking it or being elevated to it.

The visit has been specifically arranged to visit and talk to the troops in Camp Shamrock and to get a sense of the situation in the region in the context of the very important work they are doing. I note what the Deputy said about Gaza. The Palmer report published by the United Nations indicates that in the circumstances the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip is legal. It is, of course, a policy of the Government to encourage both Israel and the Palestinians to engage in comprehensive and constructive negotiations with a view to reaching a peace settlement which will facilitate an independent Palestine and an independent Israeli state in peace and security side by side. Unfortunately, the Deputy has a somewhat simplistic view of the complexities of the issues involved in regard to Gaza. I have very particular concerns about the impact on the population in Gaza of the regime which has taken over in Gaza. Hamas has subjected elements of the population to extraordinary restrictions, is responsible for a number of murders of Palestinians and for making it impossible for President Abbas to visit Gaza for fear of his own personal safety. Of course, while the peace process has been substantially stalled for some time, it is certainly not assisted by the reported rocket attacks that take place from Gaza into the State of Israel. The issues are a good deal more complex than the Deputy may wish to accept, but it is a particular concern of the Government that the peace process be reactivated and dialogue recommence with a view to facilitating an end to what is a very tragic and continuing conflict.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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Whatever is the Minister's official role, he has an important role to play in this situation. It is totally remiss of him not to take the opportunity when he is in the region to attempt to visit Gaza. If he is suggesting his schedule is so tight that he can only fit in a visit to Lebanon, that is one issue. However, he should consider my suggestion and if he plans to visit anywhere else, Gaza should be top of his list. I do not believe I have a simplistic view. The Minister's own view is partisan. Perhaps he might develop a better understanding of the situation and the plight of ordinary people if he were to take the trouble to take the not too large a step of paying a visit to view the situation in Gaza at first hand. He might then be better informed and able to come back and brief the House.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is obviously unaware that I visited Gaza some three months after the last conflict which took place between Hamas and Israel, that I saw the nature of the difficulties in Gaza and that I am intimately aware of the complexity of the problem. It is a great pity in addressing the issues in the region she sees it all completely in black and white and is not prepared to engage in a manner which might genuinely contribute to the advancement of the peace process.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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The Minister was not in his current role at the time.