The situation in Gaza is at the forefront of everyone’s mind today and in recent days. We have seen the mass bombing of thousands of people who are living in rubble as it stands. The attitude of the Israeli Government and its efforts to wipe out the Palestinian people is something the whole world is rightly aghast at. I recognise that Ireland has been to the forefront in recognising the State of Palestine and other measures but there are other distances we can go in respect of that. The issue of the occupied territories Bill has been raised here. We need to see a clear commitment from the Government that the Bill be enacted in full. In respect of the United States and the trade deficit we have there, we have looked at services as being a big part of that. The services that come from the occupied territories are also a major part of that economy. An occupied territories Bill that excludes services is not going to cut the mustard. That has to be clear.
Sentiment score: 0.22
The Bill has to be enforceable, yes, but it must clearly demonstrate the Government's and the world's absolute outrage at what is happening in Gaza and in the occupied territories across Palestine. Turning to other issues, the tariffs being brought in by the United States were to be on steel and aluminium first. Then the European Union talked about tariffs on whisky coming from America, then they retorted with tariffs on Irish whiskey products and products coming from the European Union, with talk of 200% tariffs. All of this is very volatile and difficult. In my own constituency we have The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo. Pat Rigney was on the radio the other morning talking about this. It is a clear problem for many small, indigenous companies, large portions of whose products are exported to the United States. They need to see some action on this and must have some level of protection with regard to the tariffs that are being talked about. On international trade, we also have the issue of the Mercosur trade deal, which is still on the table. Farmers and many others in my constituency and across the country feel that we will have Irish beef products produced to the highest standards competing with products produced to the lowest standards. It is unfair and unsustainable. There needs to be recognition of that. I would welcome if the Government would come out and say it is opposed in totality to the Mercosur trade deal. We have to oppose it in totality. If we are not----
Sentiment score: -0.00
I am sure the Minister of State will have an opportunity to come back in at the end. We have to recognise that this would be detrimental to the livelihoods of Irish farmers. In that context, we must be very strong and definite in respect of what we are doing around all of that. Going back to issues of international security and cybersecurity, from time to time a red flag jumps up when there has been an attack somewhere but we need to recognise that it is an ongoing problem. Every day, the capacity of those actors is growing to attack and undermine our facilities, whether it be our water, telecommunications or power infrastructure, or the infrastructure of any Government agency across the State. We need a combative sense of how we are going to deal with it. That brings me to the issue of international and security co-operation. As others have mentioned, Ireland has a long tradition of being neutral. This tradition is recognised globally as giving us strength and uniqueness and allows us to be seen as an honest broker in many situations. However, we also need to have our own security positioned in place with a military force that can respond and protect our airspace and undersea cables. Our navy is at a really low ebb at the moment. There is a great deal of work to be done in respect of building and growing all that. I will come back to the point I opened with on the situation in Gaza. The Government needs to be seen to be standing very strong in respect of that. The occupied territories Bill is the one Bill we can put forward, united across the House, to deal with that situation in an effective way and show leadership globally.
Sentiment score: 0.29