Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are delighted to see the Minister of State here today. He is one of the hardest-working Ministers we have and he is no stranger to this House. As he outlined, no one can condone the incursions that have happened recently in the Palestinian area. From our experience here in Ireland over our 30-odd years of conflict in the North - or longer as some people could tell us - I think we have been quite successful and we do not praise ourselves enough for how far we have come in 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement. Anybody who looks to the stability we have in the North now would have to say it is a success. Okay, there are parts that are not functioning. The all-Ireland processes could be utilised a lot more and would be certainly a help to more peace on this island and a way forward for our Unionist brethren in a more inclusive Ireland. I have a feeling that Israel and Palestine are at that crossroads. We know from our own past that violence breeds more violence on both sides. No side can wash its hands in this respect or say it is without blame. There have been 29 people killed in Israel including an unfortunate Palestinian working in Israel who was hit by a Hezbollah rocket. As I mentioned earlier in respect of damning incursions, there is fault on both sides. I would stress the need to work with the Israeli Government and to try to get the Palestinian representatives also, get them around the table. It has been tried. The Minister of State alluded to the two-state solution. That certainly needs to be fleshed out further and worked on harder. I fully concur with what our Minister of State was saying here. I would like to think Ireland, as a neutral country, could be to the fore in trying to show a path forward in the context of what has been the case here and in the North, could give hope to people who do not have it at present, and could prove and facilitate a peace that hopefully would be long-lasting.