Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I too welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth from Bailieborough, and her family. It is great to see them here today.

I call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to take immediate action on the war crimes Israel is committing by bombing hospitals. Cavan native and surgeon, Dr. Morgan McMonagle, is currently acting as a humanitarian worker in Nasser hospital. Following the recent airstrikes, my constituents reached out to me voicing their serious concerns for Dr. McMonagle's safety. Over the weekend, Dr. McMonagle spoke about how the majority of those who were killed by these Israeli strikes were children. The youngest child he pronounced dead was four or five months old. The latest figures we saw this week were that 40% of those killed were under the age of 14.

Civilians are coming to these hospitals looking for aid and safety. Instead, they are being met with sustained airstrikes and threats to their lives. Dr. McMonagle described, after a recent airstrike, how he and his colleagues spent 20 minutes pronouncing people dead. How can we stand by and allow this bloodshed to continue? We need to use our own experience in peace negotiations to try to bring an end to the conflict between Palestine and Israel. We should be actively using that record as a catalyst for peace.

Last December, the Tánaiste stated in an interview that he thought that pretty much all parties in the general election were committed to passing the occupied territories Bill, or a form of the occupied territories Bill but despite his comments, we wait in limbo as no material action has taken place. I ask that he be called to this House to answer questions on what he is doing to help protect the lives of innocent people and our own Irish humanitarian aid workers.