Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Many have spoken about how we will next week see Ministers travelling across the world for St. Patrick's Day. There has been a lot of focus on, and many have spoken about, the visit of Micheál Martin to the President of the United States. There is hope that he would speak against some of the language of raw colonialism and that he would stand up for the importance of climate action. There is hope that he might advocate for the importance of a genuinely just peace, not only in Ukraine but also in Gaza for the Palestinians. One of the key things we can hope for is that he does not come back with contracts for arms or having given inappropriate guarantees on the importation of liquefied natural gas, LNG, something that is literally setting fire to our children's future.

While there has been a lot of focus on what should happen on the visit to the United States, there has not been enough focus on all of the other Ministers and Ministers of State who are travelling right across Europe. This is my Minister of State and Minister challenge: will those representing Ireland across Europe in the next week or two speak about peace and about Gaza? When the discussions come up on the questions of rights and sovereignty, will they speak about the importance of genuinely moving forward? Why is there an absence of pressure to move forward on phase two of the negotiations? People are protesting on the streets of Tel Aviv, calling for phase two, which is the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the release of all hostages. Why the silence from Europe on that? Will they highlight that the cutting off of water, electricity and food is a war crime and must be protested as it occurs right now? Will they highlight the fact that this is an illegal occupation? Europe needs to decide what position it will take and what it will move forward, for example, reviewing the continuation of the association agreement between Europe and Israel, something the Irish Government has called for. Will our Ministers make that case across Europe during their St. Patrick's Day visits?