Malcolm Noonan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus déanaim comhghairdeas leis.

I thank the Civil Engagement Group. I will be supporting this Bill. Yesterday, Senator Cosgrove and I met with Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine. They have been outside Leinster House protesting for some time now, and have been campaigning and asking us in these Houses to highlight the plight of doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical staff who are caught up in the conflict in Gaza. Last week, medical workers were found in a mass grave after being bound, gagged, executed and buried in a shallow grave, breaking all international law and with very little condemnation from the international community. The IDF continues to breach all international law in its murderous regime in Gaza and its offensive against Hamas. Caught up in all of this, as all Members have spoken of, are the tens of thousands of men, women and children who continue to be murdered and maimed using weapons and technology provided by Israel's US partners. The Irish medical workers asked us yesterday to use every mechanism possible to bring pressure on Netanyahu and his right-wing thugs to bring about a permanent ceasefire, stop the slaughter, release the hostages and move towards a peaceful resolution. We are further from that than ever now.

This Bill is just one part of Ireland's effort. It is a small part of Ireland's effort, but every effort is appreciated. Again, I thank the Civil Engagement Group for bringing it forward. We need to restrict and stop the military machine to stop the murder. I appreciate the comments by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, that it is flawed, but we can work together to address those issues. It is vital that we continue every single effort we can to stop the slaughter in Gaza.