Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This Bill is a necessary step. The UN Human Rights Council has called explicitly on all countries to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel in order to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations of abuses of human rights. That is what the law and our international obligations are saying. Our own national law, which was written at a time when it was envisaged that we might be better at delivering on our neutrality and disarmament record, is clear. Senator O'Reilly said there is no allowance for weapons. Yes, indeed, our law prohibits weapons, but it allows the choice to make exemptions.

I wish to be very clear. We are not looking for a new sanction or a new ban. We are simply saying that we must stop giving the privilege of granting, on a case-by-case basis, exemptions or permissions to flights that may be directing weapons and dangerous goods to Israel. We are talking about the flow of arms. This is a country that has cut off the flow of water, one of the necessities of life, to its people. The UN and others are calling on us now to cut off the flow of arms. The main sources of that flow are Germany and the United States. The two main countries looking for exemptions to carry arms through our State are Germany and the United States. They are the countries to which we are granting exemptions. Those two countries have been absolutely clear in their intention to continue providing arms to Israel.As for these unloaded personal weapons, they are weapons. We do not know, first of all, what those weapons are, what troops may end up using them or where they will eventually go. We do not have any say. We do not know. We only know there are weapons passing through. While they are unloaded, the concern is not really what happens on the plane but rather what happens when they land and where they eventually land. There is a clear route of armaments travelling to Israel, which is being very clear when it talks about another seven months. We have seen what can happen in seven months and we can imagine what can happen in another seven months. The idea we have heard is that we will wait until the last month - maybe - to start the legislative process. By that time, obviously they will feel they have finished the job. There is a legislative process. If the Minister wished to make amendments to this legislation, he could do it. A six-month delay is not the standard practice; it is a kicking of the can and is absolving.

The Taoiseach was clear when he spoke about moments in the future when you want your children and grandchildren to ask what you did and whether you did enough. Maybe a question can be added to that: did you do it in time to help? The Minister can do more in allowing this to pass today. More importantly, he can do more tomorrow by using the powers he already has instead of paying us off. It is not a legal obstacle. To be clear, it is diplomatic. It is the friendly nation that Senator Dooley spoke about it. It is about money and not being willing to challenge the United States. The Minister said it is a friendly nation to us. He mentioned diplomacy. Let us be clear: we have the powers and we should be using them. We do not need to engage in background diplomacy to ask the United States if it minds if we stop the odd plane to check it. We have the power to stop those flights tomorrow. The Minister explicitly has that power. I ask him to use it.