Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, for being here to take this very emotive and important subject matter as a motion. This is the first Private Members' business in this session and it is appropriate that it relates to Gaza. The last Private Members' motion the House had before the recess was on the same topic. I commend Senator McDowell on all the work he put into compiling that motion and consulting with all sides of the House to ensure that we, as a House, stood firm on the side of the people in Palestine and condemned in the strongest possible ways the absolutely shocking actions of Israel and of Netanyahu. It is very sad that we have to concentrate and focus all of our emotions and energies on this absolutely horrific situation which continues to unfold and get worse all the time, but that is what we within the Fianna Fáil Party decided to do. Obviously, there are a lot of national issues that we could have used this time for but we want to show that our hearts, souls and minds are with the people of Gaza in what they are enduring.

In the context of Gaza and the two-state solution that has been proposed, it is really heartwarming to see over the past seven days the number of European countries, including the UK, that have come on board. It is important to note that Ireland and our governments have played a consistent and vocal role in supporting the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. In fact, in 1980, under the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Lenihan, Ireland became the very first EU member state to declare that peace in the Middle East must be based on a fully sovereign Palestinian state coexisting with Israel. Ireland has long prioritised the Middle East peace process in foreign policy. As a country, we have consistently supported international efforts to restart negotiations and we have always condemned human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. That was prior to what happened on 7 October 2023. In 2024, Ireland formally recognised the State of Palestine, joining other EU countries like Spain and Slovenia. This move was hailed by Palestinian leaders as historic and deeply meaningful. When we met the Palestinian ambassador here recently, she was very clear that the Palestinian people know all about Ireland and they appreciate all the efforts Ireland is making, and that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste are making to support these people who have so little, and so little hope.

Only yesterday, the Taoiseach delivered a very powerful speech, reaffirming Ireland's support for the two-state solution. He warned yesterday that the opportunity for peace may vanish without urgent global action. Every country in the world needs to take an interest and needs to stand up for what is right. He again condemned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a genocide being carried out in plain sight.

Our motion recognises the absolute horror of the war and famine being inflicted on the people of Gaza, and the need for an immediate ceasefire to allow food and aid to be delivered, and also for the hostages to be released. We have consistently called for that over the past 23 months. The key priorities now are for humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza immediately and without obstruction, including the protection of aid convoys. Safe corridors are required for medical and relief personnel.

I listened only this morning to Dr. Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, who said he was very lucky because he managed to evacuate his family to Cairo. He talked about the circumstances in which he lives and all the medics are trying to operate in to save lives. We are bearing witness and it is almost unbearable to listen to what is going on. He spoke about the luxury of having a loaf of bread. The cost of one loaf of bread is €5. Someone like a medic cannot even afford it so we can imagine what it is like for the population, 80% of whom live in extreme poverty. The lived witness piece is important. He spoke about children crying in the tent because their families cannot provide milk or food. They are crying with hunger and they are not able to fall asleep because of the hunger. They are so cried out that they are wasted.

Some Members may know the actress Denise Gough. I met her during the summer. I know Denise and her family very well. She went to Barcelona to see off the flotilla and then she went to the West Bank. Thankfully, she came back safely last week. She gave a small example of the intimidation people are suffering. She spoke about going into a bookshop called The Gateway in Jerusalem. It was a thriving bookshop that was always full. Again, this is lived experience. While they were there the owner was arrested and taken away for a few hours. The following night the bookshop was raided and all the books were removed. That type of intimidation is shocking. When we do not have food and we have very little hope, being able to turn to books themselves for some type of inspiration is really important. Again, this is being denied.

We appreciate the Minister of State being here. I say that on behalf of all of the distraught families and the children. I am conscious of my niece, Stella, who is with me today doing her TY experience. She has plans for the future and she can talk about what she wants to do when she grows up, but the children in Gaza do not have a future. They do not have a chance for education. Many of them do not have a chance to live. That is one of the messages given by the ambassador. She said they just want their children to be able to go to school, to have opportunities and to be able to live their lives, like my niece, our sons and daughters, and our nieces and nephews.

I will hand over to my colleague, Senator Comyn. I thank the Minister of State for being here and for taking this on board and listening. We know we have the full support of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste.