Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last night, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael showed their true colours when it comes to Gaza and genocide. The Tánaiste stands up in front of this House, or on TikTok, to talk about how much he cares about the Palestinian people and how he hopes someone should do something to help them. The Tánaiste speaks about his Government, how it is so committed to Palestine and how it is, in fact, on the international forefront in support of the people of Gaza. The Tánaiste is taking the Irish people for fools.

We are now 20 months into the genocide in Gaza. What does the Irish Government actually have to show for its rhetoric? What action has the Government taken beyond words, thoughts and prayers? Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are proud of the fact that they recognised the State of Palestine last year, but conveniently seem to forget they vigorously opposed calls by Sinn Féin and others on the left to recognise the State of Palestine since 2014. Recognising the State of Palestine is welcome, but it does nothing to end the genocide or sanction Israel. It was only after months of indiscriminate slaughter of men, women and children in Gaza, and months of pressure by activists on the street, that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael finally decided to reverse course and acknowledge the basic right of Palestinians to their own sovereignty.

In the past week, the Government is patting itself on the back for initiating legislation that would prohibit trade of goods with the occupied territories in the West Bank, as if we do not remember the shameful way in which it played political games with Senator Black's occupied territories Bill for years. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael did everything they could to delay and obstruct this Bill. Now, after introducing their own significantly weakened and watered down version, they are pretending they were champions of the Palestinian people all along. The Government is constantly talking about how the Irish State is perceived as one of the most pro-Palestinian countries in the EU and how it has consistently advocated in favour of Palestine at a European level. To me, that perception speaks more of the Government's skill at PR than its determination to show political leadership in support of Palestine.

It is very clear that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are well able to speak out of both sides of their mouths on Palestine. They tell the Irish public that they are doing everything they can to stop Israel's aggression and crimes, knowing that the Irish people would accept nothing less. Behind closed doors, however, to their friends and cronies in the EU, in Washington and in big business, they simply fall in line behind the Western imperialist machine. When push comes to shove, this Government will do nothing to support Palestine or to punish Israel for its actions if it believes it may draw the ire of its bosses. A stern glance from Brussels is all it takes for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to drop any notion of solidarity with Palestine. This was plain as day last night. The Government had a clear opportunity to take a step toward stopping the slaughter of Palestinians and it shamefully chose to take the side of Israel and Netanyahu. The Central Bank of Ireland is the only central bank in Europe that provides the permission Israel needs to sell its war bonds anywhere in the EU. It is the central cog in this bloody fundraising machine. Israel has raised $12 billion through these bonds for its genocide fund, and Ireland has been complicit since day one.

On Tuesday night, Paschal Donohoe gave disgraceful excuses for why the Government would be opposing Sinn Féin's Bill to stop this, claiming that it was contrary to EU law solely on the advice of the Attorney General it politically appointed. That is the same empty excuse the Government gave for not supporting the occupied territories Bill at the start. Let us not kid ourselves: they are cynical, convenient excuses for the Government to avoid taking a stand on Palestine. Ireland cannot stand by and be complicit in the genocide of Gaza, whether through the sale of war bonds or the well-documented transit of weapons through Irish airspace.

As the Tánaiste demonstrated this morning, this Government is happy to speak at length about Israel's many crimes and the immense tragedy and destruction in Palestine, but we need more than just words. We need to make clear that this genocide is not happening in our name, and that we will not stand idly by as Israel tramples over human rights, dignity and international law. Ireland needs to take action against Israel's genocide. Today, the genocide is in Gaza, but I can tell the House that the genocide has already started in the West Bank. We have heard from Senator McDowell that this is the plan. Gaza, the West Bank and the entire Palestinian community are going to be wiped out and Ireland is standing idly by, complicit in that destruction.