Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the protest in Paris following the killings at the Charlie Hebdo offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2169/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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2. To ask the Taoiseach the position regarding his visit to Paris on 11 January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2173/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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3. To ask the Taoiseach the position regarding his meeting with the President of France, Mr. François Hollande, on 11 January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2174/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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4. To ask the Taoiseach if he had any bilateral meetings with other European Union leaders in Paris on 11 January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2175/15]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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5. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, on 11 January 2015. [2207/15]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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6. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on any meetings he had with Heads of Government of the European Union, in France in January 2015. [2208/15]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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7. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on any meetings he had with the President of France, Mr. François Hollande, in France in January 2015. [2209/15]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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8. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to Paris following the horrific attacks in January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4311/15]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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9. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the President of France, Mr. François Hollande, in Paris in France in January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4312/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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10. To ask the Taoiseach if he has spoken to the Prime Minister of Denmark, Ms Helle Thorning-Schmidt, since the two fatal shootings in Copenhagen in Denmark on 15 February 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7710/15]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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11. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance in Paris at the protest following the attack on the Charlie Hebdo office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12799/15]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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12. To ask the Taoiseach if he spoke to the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, during his visit to Paris, France in January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12800/15]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 12, inclusive, together.

On 11 January last, I travelled to Paris following the horrific attacks there to join over 40 other Heads of State and Government in leading a march of silent solidarity together with President François Hollande and the families and colleagues of the victims. As I said at the time, the killings were an assault on the fundamental right to free speech, which is a cornerstone of our democratic societies. They also were a brutal attack on the Parisian Jewish community. Leaders marched together that day to defend tolerance and humanity against the hatred and extremism that seek to dismantle and destroy them. Members of all the main religions and many strands of French society participated in an enormous march which continued late into the evening. The French authorities estimated that some 3.7 million people participated in events across France. There was also a global outpouring of support for the French people, including vigils across Ireland. The determination of the French people to stand firm against hate and terror was moving and inspiring.

While I did not have any formal bilateral meetings when I was in Paris, I engaged informally with many other Heads of State and Government from across Europe and beyond. Prime Minister Netanyahu was among the leaders I spoke with. I also spoke with and expressed my sympathies to several French politicians, including Prime Minister Valls, Secretary of State Matthias Fekl, former President Sarkozy and former Prime Ministers Fillon and Rocard. President Hollande greeted me on arrival at the Élysée Palace and I conveyed to him my personal condolences and the sympathies and deepest condolences of the Irish people to the families and friends of the victims of the attacks and to the French nation at a time of great loss and mourning. I had already written to President Hollande to express my condolences and to assure him of Ireland's full support and solidarity in fighting together against terrorism and extremism while preserving tolerance and inclusivity. Deputies will recall that the terrorist attack in Paris was condemned in the strongest terms during statements in this House on 14 January.

Following the further tragic shootings in Copenhagen in the middle of February, I was deeply saddened to send a similar letter of condolence and support to the Danish Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt. When I met Prime Minister Valls during his visit to Dublin in April, I again expressed Ireland's deep solidarity with the French people and the need to defend our values. We spoke about France's deep appreciation for the support demonstrated throughout Ireland and the world in January. We also reflected that dealing with the threat of terrorism will continue to be a global challenge in the coming years. Together with all our EU partners, we continue to work towards preventing radicalisation and promoting counter-terrorism. Progress since the special European Council meeting on 12 February last will be reviewed at the forthcoming European Council meeting on 25 and 26 June.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The world was of course utterly appalled by the killing of 12 innocent people, ten of whom were journalists, at Charlie Hebdoearlier this year. I have to ask the Taoiseach about the attendance of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the demonstration he joined in the aftermath of those killings. Before I ask the Taoiseach about two aspects of this matter, I would like to mention something that might come as news to him. My main question is about Benjamin Netanyahu. The co-president of the French-Jewish Union for Peace, Pierre Stambul, was arrested at 1 a.m. last night in France. He was dragged out of his home, handcuffed and taken into police custody. I believe there is a connection between the arrest under France's anti-terror laws of a man who is part of a French-Jewish peace organisation and the fact that he was due to speak in Toulouse later today at a meeting promoting boycott, sanctions and divestment against Israel. I suggest that this man of Jewish origin was arrested under France's anti-terror laws because he was supporting the boycott of Israel in support of the Palestinian people. That follows a consistent pattern in France that pre-dates the Charlie Hebdokillings. For example, the French Government banned a number of pro-Palestinian or Palestinian solidarity demonstrations in France in July of last year, at a time when 2,300 Palestinians were being killed by Israel. Will the Taoiseach condemn such actions by the French Government against people who are legitimately expressing their opposition and outrage regarding the slaughter of thousands of Palestinians and calling for solidarity with the Palestinian people?

I would like to ask the Taoiseach about Benjamin Netanyahu. The Taoiseach has rightly said he was appalled and shocked by the Charlie Hebdokillings. He went so far as to join a mass street demonstration, which I do not think is something he has ever done before in my experience. He had certainly not done so previously during the term of office of this Government. He mentioned that he met Prime Minister Netanyahu on that occasion. Is the Taoiseach aware of the public statements made by Benjamin Netanyahu and several leading Ministers in his Government, in which they have stated in the most brutal and cold-blooded terms their belief that it is legitimate to kill Palestinians, including innocent women and children? I will give a quick flavour of some of the statements that have been made. The Israeli Minister of Defence, Moshe Ya'alon, said a couple of weeks ago that Israel is "going to hurt Lebanese civilians to include kids of the family". He continued by saying that Israel "went through a very long deep discussion ... we did it then, we did it in [the] Gaza Strip, we are going to do it in any round of hostilities in the future." The military chief of staff, Benny Gantz, who headed up the last two military assaults on Gaza, has said that "the next round of violence will be worse and see this suffering increase". According to the Minister of Education in the Netanyahu Government, "there will never be a peace plan with the Palestinians... I will do everything in my power to make sure they never get a state". He has also said that "if you catch terrorists, you have to simply kill them ... I’ve killed lots of Arabs in my life and there’s no problem with that". This is the Minister of Justice:

[Palestinians] are all enemy combatants... this also includes the mothers of the martyrs... they should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy should ask a question.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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This is the last one. According to the Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Hotovely:

My position is that between the sea and the Jordan River, there needs to be one state only – the state of Israel... There is no place for an agreement of any kind that discusses the concession of Israeli sovereignty over lands conquered [in 1967].

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has read comments made by a number of Ministers in the Israeli Government. On the one hand, I suppose one might say they are all on-message. I find that message regrettable and most unhelpful. I do not agree with those statements. When I met Prime Minister Netanyahu briefly in Paris, I said to him that when I had an opportunity to go to Gaza a number of years ago with a delegation from here, I found the situation completely intolerable. I told him that I am a strong supporter of the two-state solution and that peace is always possible. I reminded him of the example offered by a small country like Ireland, where people were able to sit down and work out their differences after 30 years of violence, with the result that lives have been saved and a fragile but stable peace situation, which has to be worked on constantly, has been put in place.

4 o’clock

I do not agree in any way with the statements Deputy Boyd Barrett has read out. They are not part of the philosophy of a democratic government working to bring about peace. That is what I think of those statements and that is what I said to the Prime Minister when I met him.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach visited France on that occasion, with other leaders, to show our solidarity in the face of the appalling murder of French journalists and cartoonists at the Charlie Hebdooffices. The world was truly appalled, not just by the senseless loss of life but also at the very fundamentalist interpretation of the world being imposed on them. The killing of the cartoonists and journalists also struck at the heart of freedom of speech, which is the most sacred freedom in a democracy. It is something we should cherish, nurture and preserve at all costs. That is why many people in developed Western democracies were truly appalled at the nature of the attack. Not only did it involve the murder of individuals who had families and a needless loss of life, but it struck at the heart of the concept and ideal of freedom of speech, the right of people to say things even if one does not like their saying it. That is why it was extremely important that the Taoiseach and others were there to show solidarity and to send a clear message to those who seek to wipe away centuries of progress, tolerance and respect for all religions and freedom of speech.

It is also very important in considering the role of ISIS and the Islamic fundamentalists, who use extraordinarily brutal means to advance their twisted ideology, that we send out a positive message to the Muslim population around the globe. There are approximately 1.8 billion Muslims in the world, many in democracies that work despite having very large populations. It is extremely important that proper signals go out to the Muslim population, the vast majority of whom have no truck with ISIS, Islamic fundamentalism or its methods. ISIS’s reign of terror in Syria and Iraq and other countries represents a fundamental threat to stability in a region that is inherently unstable and has massive problems. It reveals frightening levels of daily brutality and repression that must be stopped and dealt with.

The right of a journalist to print satirical articles and to depict characters in cartoons on contentious issues, including religion and religious beliefs, is sacred to all of us, particularly to the French, with their ideal of the Republic, liberty and all of that. We have a longstanding relationship with France and imported several of those ideals of “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” in 1798 and in our republican tradition - ideals that sprang from the French Revolution. It is important that we were there to support that.

I accept Deputy Boyd Barrett's comment that the presence of Prime Minister Netanyahu, on behalf of the Israeli Government, does not send the right signal or message to the Muslim world, because many of the Muslims watching it, particularly those in Arab countries, would not understand it. While I acknowledge that all of our judgments and opinions are subjective, appalling atrocities have been perpetrated against Palestinians in several conflicts in recent years which, without question, amount to war crimes as reported by various UN panels. I recall, during my time as Minister for Foreign Affairs, following the attack on Gaza, the extraordinary pressure that was brought to bear on an independent international panel for daring to come to conclusions which indicted the Israeli Government for the murder of children, women and non-combatants. This speaks to a need for Governments, including ours and others in the European Union, to take a far different line with the Israeli Government from that which has been taken before now. I know this Government was close to Netanyahu’s government in its first phase. A new government has been formed. Europe has been very tolerant of flagrant abuses that have gone on for a long time, in the hope that it could influence a peaceful resolution of the problem by moving towards a two-state solution. We hear now that there is no commitment. There has been a denial of the whole idea of a two-state solution and a retreat from it in the election and the formation of the government, which is extremely hardline and seems hell-bent on beating Palestinians into submission on all fronts and creating a configuration that would make the creation of a Palestinian state almost unfeasible and unsustainable. That was an awful pity at the time.

I support the Taoiseach’s presence at that gathering because it represented a coming together of leaders from across Europe and beyond to show solidarity with the murdered journalists and their families and with the ideal and concept of freedom of speech. Can the Taoiseach tell us whether he had any substantive discussion with President Hollande on that occasion and if, in the bilateral meetings he mentioned and the subsequent meetings, there has been any re-evaluation of the security threat to all EU member states from Islamic fundamentalists?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I think it was the right thing to do. We could have sent our very fine ambassador in Paris to represent us, but after speaking to her directly I concluded that, while President Hollande did not expect so many leaders to turn up, the issue was such that people wanted to express solidarity with the ideas the Deputy mentioned. It was much larger than people had imagined, in terms of both the number of Heads of State and Government who turned up and the number of the people of that great city, who turned out in their hundreds of thousands. It was quite a moment to have all the leaders linked across the big streets, walking in silent solidarity with the French people, and to see their reception of the symbolism of that march. This was an occasion of cold-blooded murder that sent out a chilling message about the lengths to which some elements and sectors will go.

I assume Mr. Netanyahu indicated his intention to travel to France. I told Deputy Boyd Barrett of my brief conversation with him. I think he later travelled to America after being invited by the Speaker of the House, which created tension between the Democrats and the Republicans, and while the US ambassador represented the United States, the Secretary of State did call very deliberately afterwards to express the abhorrence of the United States at what had happened.

Deputy Martin's comments on the Islamic world and Muslim community were accurate. Islam is a religion of peace. I met representatives of the Islamic community last week as part of the church-State dialogue and we discussed this issue and other issues that arise in this country.

Freedom of expression is fundamental to democracy. In France and a number of other countries, there has been a violent reaction to the expression of this freedom in particular forms. The occasion of my visit was an event that resulted from cold-blooded murder and sent out a message of solidarity with the French people.

It is too early to state what the Government of Israel will do in future. Very strong opinions were expressed before the Israeli general election and different opinions were expressed afterwards. It remains to be seen how serious the Israeli Government is about the Middle East peace process, which went off the rails and has been adrift since March 2014. The bedrock of the peace process has been the two-state solution, out of which, if the will is there, peace could come. Ireland has called for a fundamental review of EU policy on the Middle East to push forward and rescue the peace process while it is still possible to do so. As the Deputy is aware, the position is very fraught.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, reported to me on his trip to Gaza. Ireland contributed substantial funds for restoration and reconstruction efforts in Gaza, where the position is appalling. We pledged €2.5 million in assistance for Gaza, some of which was in the form of immediate aid while some was for longer-term assistance. Half of this total has been delivered, which is in line with the schedule we set out with the aid agencies in Palestine. The Minister's report, based on visual evidence, spelled out the horror of war and the destruction visited on people in Gaza.

There has been a significant increase this month in cement deliveries to Gaza from Israel as part of the process of reconstruction. I hope this will be sustained and a credible response will be allowed. We do not want a recurrence of the conflict. However, if the will is lacking to put the Middle East peace process back on track in order that discussions about a two-state solution can take place, the position will continue to be fraught with difficulty. I believe I have addressed most of the points raised by the Deputy.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Around this time last year, four people were killed in an attack on a Jewish museum in Brussels, and other attacks have since taken place in Denmark and Australia. As other Teachtaí and the Taoiseach noted, it was the assault on the offices of Charlie Hebdoin Paris on 7 January last which caused the greatest outrage. Five people died in a subsequent attack on a Jewish food shop and a police officer was also shot and killed. Much of this played out on our television screens. The Dáil united and extended sympathy and solidarity to all the victims in Paris and the people of France, while the Taoiseach quite properly represented us at a demonstration in Paris.

Since then, other attacks have occurred and some have been foiled, while the situation in the Middle East has significantly worsened. Almost half of Syria is now controlled by Islamic State and millions of refugees are living in horrendous conditions of poverty in neighbouring states. Among the tens of thousands of desperate migrants trying to reach Europe in search of work and asylum, there are many thousands of Syrians fleeing a war that has taken hundreds of thousands of lives. The response of the European Union has been far from adequate. The operation to stop people smugglers, especially on the Mediterranean Sea, has concentrated on detaining migrants and placing them in camps. Furthermore, the agreement reached on a quota system for European Union member states was short-lived. After it was rejected outright by the British Government, France and Spain withdrew their support for the agreement in recent weeks and their lead has been followed by other countries. What role can Ireland play and what role should the European Union play in this regard?

I commend the work of the crew of theLE Eithnesince it departed Cork only three weeks ago. In recent days, they have rescued almost 400 men, women and children and have taken a total of more than 1,000 migrants from the sea. This great work has been done as part of a good initiative by the Government.

The problem of refugees will not go away. The governments of Europe cannot hide from their responsibilities in this regard, particularly those created by some EU states and the United States through wars and military adventures in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Instead of dealing with the problem as a human rights issue and humanitarian crisis, the European Union is reducing its policy to one of military action against people smugglers. This carries with it a significant risk that a boat or boats will be sunk with migrants on board.

It is against this background that attacks such as the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdooccur. The latter resulted in millions of people in France and across the world taking part in public demonstrations and making a stand against fundamentalism. However, we must also get to grips with the core issues that have given rise to the growth of Islamic State and the violence it espouses. Whatever the colour of one's skin or whatever one's religion, race or gender, there can be no excuse for the actions that occurred in Paris and elsewhere. Wherever injustice, oppression, racism or attacks take place on religious minorities and wherever anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or sectarianism exist, they must be confronted and challenged. So too, however, must poverty, injustice, inequality, discrimination and racism.

The European Union must do more to help economic migrants and political refugees. Proactive participation and initiatives are required to end the conflicts in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Middle East. This specifically means pushing harder for a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. What is the Government doing about this issue? We can ask such questions of the Taoiseach because he is in a position to take a leadership role on this issue. I have often argued that he should take leadership on this one issue during the Government's term. Given Ireland's history of colonialism, the success of our peace process and the general sense of goodwill towards it, we could play a much greater leadership role than the size of the country would indicate.

As reflected in the contributions of previous speakers, Prime Minister's Netanyahu's repudiation of the two-state solution has given rise to great concern. His new deputy foreign minister, Ms Tzipi Hotovely, made clear her position on illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank when she cited the Bible to justify Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. She stated:

We expect as a matter of principle of the international community to recognise Israel's right to build homes for Jews in their homeland, everywhere.... This land is ours. All of it is ours. We did not come here to apologise for that.

The Government needs to have a strategy but I do not see one. Clearly, the Government has a position in support of the right of the Palestinian people to their own state. As such, why does it not move to formally and officially recognise the Palestinian state? It is that ongoing, deep-rooted and illegitimate occupation of Palestinian land that is at the centre and heart of what is happening elsewhere within the region. We could also consider the holding of a referendum as proposed by the Constitutional Convention on the removal of the blasphemy clause from the Constitution. Finally, will the Taoiseach bring proposals to the EU meeting shortly to tackle the migrant issue?

There are three points here. The first is our own policy as an Oireachtas and the Government's position on a two-state solution, which the Taoiseach has repeated here today. The second is a referendum as proposed by the Constitutional Convention on removing the blasphemy clause from the Constitution and the last one is whatever proposals the Taoiseach might want to share with the House and bring to the EU meeting on the issue of migrants.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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What is going on in terms of ISIS and the Assad regime is absolutely appalling. I have seen some of the effects and read the reports and it is beyond words. The slaughter of Christians and the wanton and indiscriminate murder of people in various locations in order to set up the Caliphate of which people speak is an unspeakable brutality and an ideology of absolute hatred. From that point of view, the conflict in Syria has had appalling consequences for the civilian population, 1 million of whom have gone to South Lebanon and 1 million to Jordan while others have fled across the Mediterranean. I share the view of Deputy Adams on the work of Naval Service personnel on the LE Eithne. It was an emotional moment for service personnel when they left Cork to head out on a humanitarian mission to work with the Italian Government and Navy. As we have discussed before, it is part of Ireland's history. There were similar drownings off Grosse-Île off the west coast of the Americas where people had inferior boats and no one to rescue them. At least, Ireland is contributing and playing its part here. The Minister for Defence answered questions on this subject on Question Time today. This matter will also be the subject of discussion at the European Council meeting on 26 June 2015. We will have the opportunity to reflect somewhat on that beforehand in pre-European Council statements. We will be looking at a number of options Ireland might put forward for consideration.

When I met with representatives of the Islamic community here last week, they raised the question of the recommendation of the Constitutional Convention on blasphemy. I indicated to the community that the Government accepted the recommendation of the Constitutional Convention that there should be a referendum on the blasphemy question but that it would not take place during the remainder of the lifetime of this Government. I indicated that it will be a matter considered in the course of the next Government.

This morning, the Government approved the taking in of a further 300 migrants, bringing the total to more than 522. Naval Service personnel have rescued more than 1,000 people in the last few days. The question of what the EU will do in this context has been the subject of a great deal of attention from High Representative Mogherini who, I suspect, will be presenting a report to leaders on 26 June. Between now and then, there will be quite a number of engagements and meetings to see if some positive approach can be taken. When one speaks to leaders of small countries like Malta and Cyprus and larger countries like Italy, one sees the extent of the consequences of conflict not just in this area of Middle East but also in terms of migrants from African coming through Libya and being put on inferior craft. In many cases, those craft have no capacity to reach the far shore, which is why we are making the best effort we can. We support very strongly the programme put forward by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who visited here and met with me and other Ministers to discuss it. He has the full support of the UN special envoy Staffan di Mistura on finding ways to bring closure to this conflict. We have urged all regional and international agencies to support the UN's ongoing efforts to avoid a further deterioration in Syria and across the region. Whether it will be in any way successful is very hard to say. When one reads some of the reports on what is happening in different regions, it is obviously not an encouraging situation. We support a referral by the UN Security Council of the situation that applies in Syria to the International Criminal Court and recognise the need for accountability for the multiple war crimes that have been committed during the conflict. I hope that can be adopted.

At the end of March, the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock, attended at the humanitarian conference in Kuwait dealing with pledges for Syria. He announced that Ireland would provide a further €12 million in 2015 in funding and emergency supplies to help meet the stark and urgent needs of those affected by the Syrian conflict. That brings the total value of the Government's response to more than €41 million. We have responded to the plight of the victims of the Syrian conflict with a significant measure of humanitarian assistance for a country of our size, but then that is part of our nature and our history. It shows our ongoing commitment to responding to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and neighbouring countries for millions of the most vulnerable Syrians, including refugees and internally displaced persons. We have taken 128 Syrian refugees under the UNHCR's resettlement programme and agreed to take a further 220 in 2015 and 2016. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, proposed and received Government approval for the resettlement of an additional 300 refugees in 2015 and 2016 also. We have put in place a humanitarian initiative, the Syrian humanitarian admission programme, which offers temporary Irish residence to vulnerable persons in Syria or who have fled Syria to surrounding countries since the outbreak of the civil war and who have family members who reside in the State. That is of some small benefit.

As Deputy Adams said, the LE Eithneis deployed on the high seas in international waters between Sicily and Libya, which is where most of the migrant activity and search and rescue incidents have occurred. We are working in co-ordination with British, Italian and German naval forces.

To date, the LE Eithnehas rescued more than 1,100 migrants. As part of our contribution, the Minister for Justice and Equality has announced that Ireland will resettle an additional 300 vulnerable people who have been displaced by the crisis in Syria. In a further effort to assist, the Government allocated a further €2 million in humanitarian funding and support for NGO relief efforts in Syria and the wider region, which brings our total contribution in money terms to €41 million.

In reply to some of the issues raised by the Deputy, a referendum on blasphemy will be held but not in the lifetime of this Government. EU reforms and EU migrant issues are the subject of much discussion now and we can have a further reflection on that in the pre-European Council statements before 23 June.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call Deputy Boyd Barrett for a brief supplementary question. I would like to move on to the next group of questions.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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We all agree that the Charlie Hebdokillings were appalling and are to be condemned outright. However, my question was trying to ascertain that unless we address the issue of double standards in foreign policy, the fuel that is driving the Middle Eastern and north African region towards extremes and towards intractable and perennial conflict will continue. At the very heart of that, and every survey and study shows that the people who have been radicalised and who have joined or given support to outfits like ISIS - this is not to justify it in any way because it should be condemned outright - is the fact that one of the key radicalising factors is the plight of the Palestinian people and the double standards of the Western world when it comes to continuing to ignore and allow Israel to persecute, kill and slaughter Palestinians with impunity and to deny and suppress in the most brutal fashion basic Palestinian human rights. One can add to that list what the Egyptian Government is doing to all of its opponents.

There is no consistency from the Western world in addressing these issues. To state the obvious, there is considerable double standards in that it would be inconceivable that a leading figure in Islamic State would have been invited to the demonstration in Paris. This State would not trade with Islamic State but, as I tried to demonstrate to the Taoiseach, Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are guilty of premeditated killing of Palestinians on the same scale and with the same vile ideology running behind it as we see from Islamic State. Yet, we still treat them as if they were a normal government; we trade and do business with them. The Taoiseach meets with them in Paris. That sends a message. The Taoiseach used very strong language, and rightly so, when he talked about ISIS and what it is doing in Syria. However, the same strength of language is not employed when it comes to the vile, sick language being used by the Israeli Government. There is no other word for the sort of language and thinking that the Israeli Government is employing. It is sick and twisted. That has to be said and action has to follow. At what point do we say it has gone over the line and that it cannot be treated like a normal state? At a certain point the world said it would no longer deal with South Africa because apartheid was not acceptable any more. Have we not reached that point with Israel when its government uses such language and carries out the sort of actions and pursues the sort of policies that it is pursuing? When do we say, "This has gone too far now, these are not normal people"?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It has gone too far when politicians say that there will never be a peace brokered between these two regions. It has gone too far when it is said that the only thing to do is to kill them. That is not the talk or the debate of democrats who are prepared to take on challenges and sit down and work things through. The Prime Minister is well aware that in our country, with 30 years of troubles and terrorist activities and 3,000 people killed, maimed, blown up and disappeared, it was eventually possible with a lot of help for people to be able to sit down and work out a situation so that people could get on with their lives. It is much more complex in many ways between Gaza and between Palestine and Israel, but one cannot have a situation where that kind of violent language and that kind of threatening language is used behind a screen of pandering to the opportunity that presents itself of actually having peace.

These two things are not compatible. If we go back to the late 1940s and accept a two-state solution as the way forward, if that is the foundation on which to build, then one does not say the only thing to do is to kill people. Clearly, there are responsibilities on both sides in terms of the preservation of human life but at the same time there must be a focus on what one wants to do and work towards it. It is not easy and it will not be accomplished in any short term. I do not know how many more governments will come and go. However, if one believes in peace, then one must demonstrate a willingness to work for it. What I saw for myself in Gaza a number of years ago is certainly not very encouraging. In so far as we can help through the European Union and the work of the high representative and the governments, we must focus on this particular problem which is off-track since March last year and exacerbated now by the many other problems in the region where extreme violence has become evident in recent times. It is altogether a very sad affair.