David Norris (Independent)

That is excellent. They have joined the socialists with Deputy Bertie Ahern.

I was also interested to note that this motion was taken by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Of the two principal Departments dealing with this area, the Department of Foreign Affairs has the better record. I am not surprised the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform flunked it, which is what it did. The truth is rather unpleasant, particularly in that area, and the record is not patchy. It is disgraceful. Instead of fostering a human rights culture, the Government has destroyed the substance of the organisations we named by leaving them a vestigial presence in order to save face. On the surface we can say we have a Human Rights Commission, an Equality Authority, and so on, but they exist in such a reduced form that they are incapable of fulfilling their mandate. That is a shocking indictment of the Government. However, there is remarkable talent in the present Government, including the Minister of State who is present. He is able to prophesy because he anticipated what would be said before it was said. In the printed copy of his speech he regrets some of the comments of Senators in their statements. He can only have done that by divine wisdom.

With regard to some of the comments that have been made, at the instigation of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, about the majority of people on the board, what is the majority? The Government had to buy four votes. It is quite an astonishing performance. I am aware from talking to them that some board members remained on the board only because they are so deeply suspicious of this Government they think it would welcome the opportunity to abolish the board entirely. That is the type of climate with which we are dealing. Then there is this ludicrous idea of shared IT and so forth. It reminds me of the slogan from some years ago — "Save water, shower with a friend." It is at that level; it is complete bloody nonsense, and we all know it. There is also the issue of rented space. Who rented the space? It was rented by Government agencies, not the Equality Authority. There is a black mark for that.

I am aware we have done a fair amount with regard to Israel, but we did not push sufficiently on the external trade association agreement. Senator Daly is correct that 75% of Israel's agricultural produce is imported into the European Union. The European Union could have switched the war off in five minutes, if it had threatened that. There was an excellent suggestion from Senator Hanafin to include the Palestinians. I have been to the area and have listened to the bilge from the Israeli ambassador. He claims the Israelis left the Palestinians a few greenhouses, but they have strangled the exports from Gaza. I have been there and seen, as I am sure Senator Daly has, mounds of rotting vegetables. The Israelis will not let one strawberry out.

I must pay tribute to John Ging of UNRWA, an Irishman of whom we can be immensely proud. I am glad the Government is in contact with him. He does all of us proud. The situation there is appalling. People who suffered, Jewish people, have done this, the sheer bureaucratic efficiency and mechanistic denial of all humanity. According to a surgeon:

The amount of damage done by these weapons [the DIME weapons] is not commensurate to the wounds. We found computer chips, magnetic pieces and transistors in wounds. Sometimes there are only minute pin-point punctures to the abdomen and chest, but you see huge damage to internal organs. One patient had his liver burned black, as if it had been grilled.

The surgeon was quoted in an article by Lara Marlowe in The Irish Times last Saturday.

Finally, I have information that in Tibet at present the authorities are trying to force the Tibetan people, who decided to cancel forthcoming religious celebrations, to celebrate them. It is similar to trying to force us to celebrate Christmas if a decision had been made by the religious authorities to suspend it out of solidarity with some disaster that had occurred. People in Tibet are being killed. I wish to mention in particular Pema Tsepak, a 24 year old man from Punda Town in Dzogang County, Chando Prefecture, who was murdered in custody because he protested on behalf of the independence of Tibet.

I had intended to walk out of the 1919 Dáil commemoration because I was horrified that the wonderful inspiring words of the founding members of our democratic system about equality and human rights were being read by people who are part of an Administration that is dismantling them. It was suggested, however, that if I did so, it would simply concentrate attention on my action and would be seen as a gimmick. Tonight, in the Seanad, I was allowed to raise these issues in a proper way and to listen to the contributions of the Minister and my colleagues on all sides of the House. It has been a proud day for the Seanad. This is the reason I am in politics, and I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, and my colleagues for it.