Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming in this evening. How can we justify our allies' role in the genocide happening in Gaza? Can we stand by and say nothing? The simple answer is that we cannot. I refer to the line used by our allies, namely, that Hamas carried out its attack first. This was an attack that this Parliament was united in condemning, but an attack the UN Secretary General said, "did not happen in a vacuum". Our allies have said that every country has a right to self-defence, which of course is true. What we have witnessed in the last number of months and weeks, however, has been the cold-blooded slaughter of innocent people and of an entire civilisation.

We should not, then, smile and shake hands with allies across the globe who have both the influence and power to bring about the necessary change without expressing outrage regarding what is happening and demanding that it stops. Ireland is a small country, but thanks to decades of international peacekeeping duties undertaken by our Defence Forces, decades of missionary work and the contribution our diaspora has made right across the globe, we as a small country carry influence disproportionate to our size. Next week, we will see this demonstrated in abundance. We will have 38 St. Patrick's Day missions travelling across the globe, 11 of which are going to the USA. I wish all the Ministers and Ministers of State luck in their travels.

These St. Patrick's Day missions are about building cultural ties and supporting the great work the IDA and Enterprise Ireland are doing continuously to increase trade for our country. It is also, however, about taking a moral stand. To me, the definition of a good friend is someone who will tell me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear. This year, we must use our special relationship and deep friendship with the USA in this regard. Next week is an opportunity to really make a difference. Next week, we, as a Government, and our representatives abroad, must ensure that President Biden and his entire Administration, and the administration in every country our representatives visit, know just how strongly we as a country feel about this war. It is a war that goes against the very grain of humanity and that disgusts the vast majority of men, women and children on our island.

We must build alliances to ensure that an immediate ceasefire happens and there is immediate access to aid. I say this because we must all have been horrified by the scenes last week of aid being blocked and children dying of starvation. We must build alliances to bring about trade sanctions in respect of the occupied territories. We should look at working with other countries to see if there may be a mechanism whereby families in Ireland and other countries can sponsor families in Palestine and establish a refugee programme. Go raibh maith agat.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Troy sincerely for raising this matter. He has particular insight and knowledge that not everyone in this House has concerning the importance of trade missions and, indeed, the importance of speaking truth to good friends. Everyone in this House knows the scale of devastation we are witnessing in Gaza. After more than 150 days of brutal conflict, some 5% of the population there is now dead, injured or missing. More than 17,000 children have been left unaccompanied or separated from their families. Behind each statistic and every number is a family, a child and a community utterly devastated by this horrific war. As if things were not bad enough, hunger is now the daily reality for almost everyone in Gaza. Children are reportedly already dying of dehydration and malnutrition and a conflict-induced famine looms on the horizon. Every day this conflict continues brings this man-made famine closer. All of us will have been touched by the harrowing images we have seen on television and on the Internet in recent evenings.

Time is short, but we can still improve the situation and the first step to doing so is an immediate unconditional ceasefire. For months, the Government and this House have been unequivocal in our calls for an immediate ceasefire. This remains a critical moment. I sincerely hope that a ceasefire can be secured in advance of Ramadan, which begins on 10 March.

The Government’s core position is consistent, principled and clear: an immediate ceasefire; the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza; and full and unhindered humanitarian access. In the event that no ceasefire is in place by the time of St. Patrick’s Day, the Deputy can count on the Government to take the urgent message of a ceasefire with us wherever we travel. St. Patrick’s Day is an opportunity not just to advance our interests and promote trade and culture but also to promote our values. That means that we will be discussing our position on the war in Gaza in all our political engagements.

The Taoiseach will certainly do so in Washington, including in meetings with President Biden and other key leaders in the US Government. This goes far beyond the shamrock ceremony and into many important bilateral meetings. The Tánaiste will be raising the matter in Canada and so will many other members of Government. I will travel to Croatia and Slovenia and will make our position clear in all my engagements.

Pushing for a ceasefire has been a focus of outreach by the Government for months. We have been pushing for that in the EU, at the UN and in a wide range of bilateral engagements, including by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste.

The Deputy will be aware of our strong support for UNRWA. It remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza and it contributes to the stability of the wider region. When news broke about the possible involvement of a small number of UNRWA staff in the attacks on October 7, the Tánaiste was the first foreign Minister to express confidence in UNRWA leadership. In February, we contributed €20 million in funding. In Europe, in Washington and elsewhere, we made the case for UNRWA. We argued that there is no alternative and that those who suspended their funding should lift that suspension. We worked assiduously within the EU to ensure that the Commission released its committed funding of €50 million to UNRWA. We will continue to make that case including, where appropriate, as part of upcoming St. Patrick’s Day programmes.

St. Patrick’s Day is a unique moment and a chance for us to showcase who we are. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to access decisions makers all over the world. That is why 38 representatives will bring Ireland’s message to 84 cities in 47 countries. I have no hesitation in assuring the Deputy that they will be bringing with them Ireland’s foreign policy priorities, including our resolute and principled position on bringing an immediate end to this brutal war. Our demand for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and unhindered humanitarian access will be at the top of every discussion for every meeting to be held in the forthcoming week. I assure the Deputy that the comments he has made will also be put forward as part of that process.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State's reply. He is correct that St. Patrick's Day is a unique opportunity for unparalleled access across the globe and is something we should be very proud of. We have an opportunity this year to promote our values. The values we are talking about are our opposition to the war in Gaza. I welcome that he said that in the event that no ceasefire is in place by St. Patrick's Day, Ministers will bring the urgent message of a ceasefire. While a temporary ceasefire is one thing, we need a permanent resolution in this area.

The military operations by Israel in recent years have been: Operation Cast Lead in 2008; Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012; Operation Protective Edge in 2014; Operation Wall Guardian in 2021; and Operation Swords of Iron now. They have resulted in tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians being killed.

Of course, we need to work towards a temporary ceasefire now to get the war to stop and get aid in to where it is necessary. We also need to work towards a permanent ceasefire, a non-military ceasefire, something akin to what we achieved on our island in Northern Ireland. However, that will not happen if the USA continues to fund the Israeli military to the extent it is doing. Before the war in Gaza, $3.1 billion was spent on military aid annually, the largest recipient of American foreign aid in the world. I welcome the Minister of State's confirmation that next week he and his colleagues will bring our message and our core values across the globe using our unique position with our St. Patrick's Day missions to try to bring about a resolution to what is going on in Gaza.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I again thank the Deputy for his comments. We all agree that the Government has certainly not been silent when it comes to this brutal conflict in Gaza nor have we been inactive. We have to back our words of condemnation with proactive approaches, building alliances within the EU and the UN as well as putting our money where our mouth is by backing the actions of the ICJ and UNWRA. More importantly, we will not sit out this issue. I know some people in this House and outside this House say that there should be some sort of boycott or that we should stay away. If we are not in the room, we cannot have that conversation. The Deputy knows this and he has expressed this. That is why Ireland must be in the room and why we must play that proactive role, not just fuelled by the experience that the Deputy outlined of our own island and how we built peace, but also our consistent work in this region, often being a lone voice in this region.

In recent months, Ireland has consistently advocated for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, for sustained humanitarian access and for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. A temporary or short-term ceasefire is not good enough. A ceasefire on its own is not good enough. We need a lasting peace and Ireland very much wants to be part of that discussion about how we create a lasting peace and ensure there is a two-state solution.

We want to maintain our relationship with our allies. We want to be honest with our allies, but we want to make sure that our voice is constantly heard. That is why we will take that message. I again reassure the Deputy that every point he has made this evening will be repeated by Ministers in every single engagement as part of their St. Patrick's Day programme. I have no doubt that in due course there will be an opportunity to report back to this House about how those discussions went.