Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We will move on to the specifics, but what I am saying is extraordinarily relevant - if we take a position on a section, there must be a clear understanding as to why.

Besides our position on the occupied territories, we are in favour of a two-state solution. In tandem with the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, that has been pursued vigorously by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, since he started in that Department. There is an ongoing concerted effort to achieve the two-state solution and get the peace process back on the rails.

We take issue with and are abhorred by the shooting of Palestinians in the recent strikes. We have a major problem with the litany of human rights abuses, for example, minors appearing before adult courts and being separated from parents in the middle of the night. We also oppose the skyrocketing unemployment rate, the low per capitaincome and the breakdown of infrastructure in terms of roads, water, power, etc. We are unambiguously and unequivocally against all of that and in favour of the Palestinian people.Let there be no illusions about that. We condemn Israeli expansion and we have supported a number of EU measures sanctioning Israel for the expansion of those settlements. Those have included excluding settlement groups from normal tariff rates and ensuring accurate labelling of settlement goods which could be represented as coming from Israel. Consumers can thereby make a choice for themselves, which has to be the ultimate yardstick. Members will be aware, as Senator Black never fails to acknowledge, that the Tánaiste has liaised with Senator Black throughout this process and understands the objective she is trying to achieve. It is a question of how to arrive at those objectives. Therein lies the issue.

The Government is opposing the Bill on the following technical grounds. I refer to section-----