Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I commend Senator Higgins for her work on this issue. It is a significant achievement to get all-party consensus and I know the passing of this motion means a lot to her. Sinn Féin has signed up to the motion. We support the general message it sends, although it does not go far enough in its condemnation of the Saudi Arabian regime, in our opinion. We understand the motion is a compromise of many different positions and it was on that basis that we signed up. I just wanted to clarify that in case anyone thought this motion fully reflects Sinn Féin policy.

We have all been utterly shocked at the images of the humanitarian crisis and suffering in Yemen. Thousands of people have died in the conflict and 14 million need food assistance and are at risk of famine. The UN World Food Programme warned that the country faces a full-blown famine in six months unless things rapidly change. I want to be clear on the next point. The humanitarian crisis falls completely at the feet of the Saudi regime. We have seen how it has used its military might to bomb civilian infrastructure, homes and even school buses. Médecins Sans Frontières reported its hospitals have been hit five times by Saudi-UAE airstrikes. They have also blockaded Hodeidah port, stopping vital supplies. They have carried out these war crimes with impunity. Data collected by al-Jazeera and the Yemen Data Project show more than 18,000 air raids have been carried out in Yemen since 2015 by the Saudi and UAE-led military coalition, and almost one third of all bombing missions struck non-military sites.

Although we know this, I need to point out that the US provides logistical and weapons support to the Saudis. US contracted military planes leaving Shannon regularly travel to states belonging to that coalition. Hundreds of permits for military munitions of war were approved by the Irish Government last year, with many of these planes heading to these same destinations. Let me clear: the Government's hands are not clean when it comes to this horrific war. Britain and the US alone have sold more than $12 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia since it entered the war in 2015.

Sinn Féin has repeatedly called on the Government to join the calls to impose an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia due to the war crimes committed by its forces and its brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi in its consulate in Istanbul. Regrettably, the Government continues to fail to do this. If we are serious, and I have heard very positive comments across the Chamber about the need for Britain and the US to stop supplying arms, surely we need to make the call to impose the arms embargo.

I welcome the news of a breakthrough in the peace talks on Yemen in Sweden, which has led to some localised ceasefires. However, there are very real worries and concerns over how the agreed measures will be implemented. I hope this breakthrough in the talks will lead to a wider and sustainable ceasefire, and, ultimately, the end of this devastating war caused by Saudi Arabia. However, we cannot take that for granted.

This motion also calls on the Government to significantly increase humanitarian aid to Yemen and closely monitor the ability for humanitarian aid to reach the vulnerable populations in most need, including an end to the blockages and blockades which prevent such access. I hope the Government takes this call seriously and Sinn Féin will support any measure the Government takes in this regard, but if it does not, we will also hold it to account.

I want to finish on the point in regard to Shannon. How can we find it acceptable that we are aiding this war through our civilian airport in Shannon? How is it that nobody seems to want to talk about this point? If we are serious about being peace brokers, and I acknowledge the good work done by the Government, surely to God we have to stop supporting this war through the US use of Shannon Airport.