Seanad debates

Thursday, 15 September 2011

11:00 am

Photo of Mark DalyMark Daly (Fianna Fail)

-----that the Government made many promises to the people and has managed to keep less than 10% of them. It was not elected to blame the previous Government, rather to fulfil its promises to the people.

I note that the first item on the Order of Business is on international democracy day and the Arab Spring, but I also note from the Order Paper that there is a Government motion that this side of the House did not previously support in relation to recognition of the Palestinian state. It is long-winded and convoluted and looks like the Government is preparing the way not to support Palestinian state recognition at the United Nations this year. That is regrettable. On the other side of the same the page we have this side of the House supporting the pre-1967 borders. It will be interesting to see if the Labour Party, especially as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is the leader of that party, will support a long-held view and see if Ireland has an independent foreign policy anymore. Will we leave it up to the European Union to decide the fate of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian state? As we know EU foreign policy is not worth the paper on which it is written. It could not intervene to do anything in Bosnia or Serbia. It has been woefully inadequate in many situations throughout the world. I hope the Government will reflect the people's views on the recognition of a Palestinian state. If not, when the resolution is decided by the Palestinian Authority, Fianna Fáil with, I hope, colleagues on both sides of the House will put that wording. The same wording that is being put before the United Nations this month will be put before this House and we will see where people's beliefs lie and whether they will simply follow the EU line on this.

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