Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator John Kelly's comments on the ongoing debacle in SUSI. A new system intended to streamline the process has made it a thousand times worse. The centralisation of the process has resulted in disaster for students and families under financial pressure, with students being forced by colleges to consider withdrawing from their courses. The Acting Leader needs to arrange another debate on this issue with the Minister for Education and Skills because some students are uncertain whether they will be returning to college after Christmas.

I would also like the Acting Leader to organise a debate on the creeping federalism of the European Union and the statement made recently by a Member of the European Parliament that there should be a European security concept - euro-speak for a European army - and that there was a political will for military operations, for which we would need an institution. "Institution" in this context means a European army. I ask the Acting Leader to organise a debate on this issue.

The acting leader for the Labour Party mentioned the EuroMed agreement and how Europe is acting collectively. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade was asked about the issue of settlement goods being sent to Europe under the agreement. As we know, the West Bank is outside the recognised State of Israel and should not be covered by the EuroMed agreement. When asked what Ireland was going to do about this, the Minister said we were going to work with our European colleagues.

There was a time when Ireland had an independent foreign policy and in the event that a country such as Israel, or any other country, was abusing human rights, agreements would be suspended. It is provided for in the EuroMed agreement that once human rights are abused, the agreement will be suspended and countries will no longer have preferential trade agreements with the European community. We know, and it has been independently verified by the United Nations, that the rights of people in the West Bank are being violated on a daily basis. Why then is the EuroMed agreement still in place? Why is the Minister, Deputy Gilmore, not saying to our European colleagues, seeing as they cannot act or come to an agreement, that Ireland will act alone?

Trócaire, an organisation we all recognise and respect, has launched a campaign to boycott goods coming from the settlements - not those from Israel, but those from the illegal settlements in the West Bank. However, the Government has failed to act. When Ronald Reagan was in power, there were 40,000 illegal settlements in the West Bank. Today, the number is closer to 500,000. Yet Europe has failed to act. I ask the Acting Leader to organise a debate on that issue.