Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact we will be debating Yemen later this evening and I thank the Leader for providing time for the debate. I acknowledge the work of Senator Alice-Mary Higgins in getting it lined up. It will be very worthwhile.

I ask for a debate in the new year on the broader issue of foreign affairs. I wish to ask where our independent voice is as a country because, under this Government, it seems to have disappeared. I will cite a few examples of this. We expelled two Russian diplomats earlier this year, on the say-so of MI6 because there was no evidence at the time. I contrast that with our response to Saudi Arabia after the horrific killing of Jamal Khashoggi, when we did absolutely nothing. There are 52 people employed by the Saudi Arabian Embassy here, the same number as in the British Embassy. One can expect such a figure for staff in the UK Embassy but what are the 52 Saudi diplomats actually doing here? It is astounding that there are so many staff employed here.

The second example is Palestine, in respect of which the continual refusal of the Government to apply the decision of the Dáil to recognise the State of Palestine is hugely disappointing, as is the refusal to get on board with Senator Black's Economic Activities (Occupied Territories) Bill. It seems we are not prepared to do anything that might upset the American Administration or the US chamber of commerce.

The third example is PESCO. We know from Médecins sans Frontières that 14,000 migrants have been driven back to Libya this year. That is against international law and against a promise made by the European Union not to allow them to be driven back to be sold as slaves, tortured, raped and mutilated. There has been no comment from the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade on this.

The final example is the air strikes on Syria, which we were happy to go along with because we "understood" them. We are supposed to be an independent country with an independent foreign policy. That has vanished under this Government and that is why I am calling for a debate in the new year.