Lynn Ruane (Independent)

I thank the Deputy Leader for the comments at the beginning of the Order of Business. They are welcome. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that after statements, instead of finishing at 1.30 p.m., we have statements from An Taoiseach or the next available senior Minister to update the House on the flotilla and send a message to the families at home who, I am sure, are extremely concerned for their family members. As each day goes by in Gaza, the whole world becomes more broken. Every person is impacted, regardless of whether they realise it or not, whether through what they see on their screens or in their daily efforts to try to not see that because the complexities of what they see are often incomprehensible. People are struggling to process what is going on in the world. I stand open to correction, but I think four boats are still on course. They are not the ones that left a few days ago from Italy, but there are still four that are part of that flotilla and that have not yet been intercepted. They are surrounded, however. They are getting very close Gazan shores, which is completely legal to do. We need to send a strong message to allow those boats to continue on their way. Imagine being starving and knowing that there is aid quite close by at sea and that someone is stopping it getting to you. I think of the women who give birth and who once felt their own bodies could sustain their newborn babies through breast-feeding. They can no longer sustain them as a result of the fact that they are starving and their bodies are stressed and traumatised. They are displaced over and over again.

There are ships currently within reach that could provide lifesaving medicines. Imagine being a child who has to have an amputation without anaesthetic. Imagine that pain. We talk about the bravery of those attempting to bring aid and the resistance that continues to exist among the Gazan people to be who they are, namely to be Palestinians who are proud of their heritage. They continue to fight for their own survival in the face of pure evil. To use our privilege to vote for an amendment to call for statements in this Chamber does not take bravery. It just takes a decision on our own behalf to say we want statements on this matter to be taken today in order to send a strong message to our colleagues and to Palestine. It takes nothing for us or from us to vote in favour of an amendment that calls on the Taoiseach or a senior Minister to come to the Chamber to give an update and make a strong statement on this matter. It is a very easy ask.