Results 1-17 of 17 for israel speaker:Fiona O'Loughlin

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 Apr 2024)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...announcement regarding Palestine the evening before last. It has long been Fianna Fáil policy that Palestine should be recognised as a state in its own right and that there should be a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. It is now Government policy and we really must welcome that. It is very important in moving forward. The Tánaiste also stated that Ireland will...

Seanad: Situation in the Middle East: Statements (20 Feb 2024)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...asked the question, "How could this happen?" Again, the answer was that people did not know what was happening and if they knew, it would not happen. Many years later, I lived in a kibbutz in Israel for a few months. The kibbutz was founded by Holocaust survivors and named for Mordechai Anielewicz, a Polish Jew. I met survivors and worked with them. I found myself saying that the...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Feb 2024)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...Acting Leader. I commend the actions taken by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste in working with Spain to write to the European Commissioner looking for an urgent review of the trade agreement with Israel on the basis of human rights abuses. Obviously, the EU-Israel association agreement is an important trade agreement, so it is important the Commission take note. The international...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Dec 2023)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...of Bill Clinton in particular, and George Mitchell, we would not have achieved what we were able to achieve 25 years ago. There is no doubt America needs to step up the plate and use its influence over Israel. Until then, we are not going to see an end to the current conflict. I welcome the decision by An Bord Pleanála to uphold the planning approval previously granted by Kildare...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Nov 2023)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...and we absolutely need to make sure they are on it quite soon. I want to make a point regarding the ongoing diplomatic realities in the background. There have been some calls for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. That would obviously lead to the expulsion of the Irish ambassador in Israel, who is central to trying to get our Irish citizens out. I want to make clear that I...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Nov 2023)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...or politician, but in Palestine children say they will not grow up because they feel they have no future they can look forward to. We certainly should expect more from a modern democracy, such as Israel, than the collective punishment we have seen. There is no doubt that this is a holocaust by another name.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Oct 2023)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...there. Everyone is bearing witness to the horrific and shocking situation that we are seeing in Gaza. As I have mentioned before, having visited the region and made friends both in Gaza and Israel through a kibbutz in which I worked, it is shocking to see the situation in hospitals. The Senator outlined a number of statistics. Yesterday, we learned that 1,500 pregnant women are...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Oct 2023)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...from his work in this House as well as at the Council of Europe. He is right. Sometimes we highlight a situation. Russia and Ukraine took the headlines for so long, and still deserve to do so, but now it is Palestine and Israel that deserve to be in the headlines. Unfortunately, however, we have situations that slip under the radar and the world looks away. The genocide against Kurds...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Oct 2023)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...being killed. The boy begged all of us to do what we could to ensure that peace would happen. That is a very important message from a young boy who cares about his peers who live in Gaza and Israel. I want to raise section 39 workers.

Seanad: Situation in Israel and occupied Palestinian territory: Statements (12 Jul 2023)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak on this really difficult international situation. I had the opportunity many years ago to spend six months in Israel on a kibbutz. It was very close to the Gaza Strip; it was about six miles from there. I had the opportunity to see how partnership could work when people want it to.There were a number of Palestinians working on...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Defence Forces (9 Feb 2023)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...since our first deployment in 1958. Currently, we are the sixth largest EU troop contributor to the UN. Our largest deployment with the UN peacekeeping mission is in Lebanon but we also have troops deployed in the Golan Heights, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our Defence Forces personnel do not just serve abroad but...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 May 2022)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...for their sustained campaign and I add my voice to those calling for RACO to be involved. Senator Black spoke of the shocking scenes at the funeral of the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and how Israel has refused access to MEPs. I think that is wrong. They should be allowed in. The Seanad should ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to write to the Israeli ambassador....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Employment and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (12 May 2022)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ..., learning skills and being part of the community. While Senator Flynn was asking questions, I was trying to think of my own experience. I did social farming once in my early 20s. It was in Israel on a kibbutz. We were paid 1 shekel per week, or the equivalent of 50 pence, but what I learned and what I experienced over the few months I was there – obviously, it was a different...

Seanad: Situation in the Middle East: Statements (1 Mar 2022)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...O'Sullivan referred to the novel Apeirogonby Colum McCann. This is one of the best books I have read in the past year or two. Essentially, it is about the futility of war. It is about Rami, an Israeli whose daughter was killed in a suicide bombing, and Bassam, a Palestinian whose daughter Abir was shot by an Israeli soldier. The novel is about how these two men found one another and...

Seanad: Situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Statements (17 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank the Minister for being here to listen to our arguments, which basically are all the same, namely, we want peace and we want sanctions imposed on Israel. I listened carefully to what the Minister said. While I do not doubt the sincerity of his words for one moment, I was concerned to hear him say that the UN Security Council was unable to issue a clear statement regarding the...

Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Second Stage [Private Members] (23 Jan 2019)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...sending a very strong message to the international community that we condemn the occupation of territories which is deemed illegal under international law. I was fortunate many years ago to visit Israel and spent some months there getting to know the Israeli people and, indeed, some Palestinian people. One of the kibbutzim I was on was six miles from the Gaza Strip and, thankfully, there...

Other Questions: Humanitarian Access (21 Sep 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...for all Members. It is unacceptable that these four people who have given so much time to support Palestinians and make the world aware of the problems there were deported. I have been to Palestine and Israel. It is very important that the message of what is happening in Palestine gets out to the world. The four people that were deported have been doing a huge service for us all. ...