I will start by quoting Eric Cantona, who has been very vocal in his support for boycotting Israel: We all remember apartheid in South Africa. The sporting boycott was critical in ending it. We have power. You have power. And football fans around the world have power. I would go further. It is not just football fans around the world who have power. Every sporting fan, every athlete, every governing body and every nation that participates in sport has power. Sport cannot be separated from human rights and sporting boycotts can play a significant role in increasing pressure for change. We are now more than one thousand days into the destruction of Gaza. Nobody can dispute the scale of human suffering that has taken place. Tens of thousands have been killed and entire communities have been devastated. We are witnessing a real-time destruction of the Palestinian people and we ask ourselves what are we prepared to do about it. Sport is often described as having no place in politics. We hear that phrase repeatedly, but history tells us otherwise. Sport has always been political. Nations use sport to project an image of themselves to the world. Governments celebrate victories as national achievements. Major sporting events are used to showcase internationally how a country represents itself on a global stage. If sport can be used to promote a country's image, then surely it is legitimate to ask whether that image reflects reality. How a country represents itself on the global stage must be measured against how it treats other human beings. That is why this debate matters. I thank the Social Democrats for bringing it forward. The motion argues that Israel should be excluded from international sporting competitions. I agree with this, as the destruction and illegal occupation continues. When apartheid South Africa was isolated from international sport, it was not just because of sport that it suddenly became political. It was because the world recognised that continuing as normal sent a message that oppression could be ignored. When Russia was rightly suspended from international competitions following its invasion of Ukraine, sporting organisations acted with remarkable speed. The question many people are asking today is simple: if sporting sanctions were appropriate in those circumstances, why is Israel being treated differently? Here in Ireland, we have our own history of taking principled positions. In 1999, the Government intervened to prevent a game involving Yugoslavia because of atrocities taking place in Kosovo. The principle was clear, namely, that there are moments when events become so grave that business as usual is no longer acceptable. We were fined £25,000, but we stood in solidarity with a nation under siege because how you treat the weak is your true nature calling. We in this Chamber and sporting authorities need to provide that leadership again. What message do we send when sporting events continue exactly as normal? What message do we send when flags are waved, anthems are played and international fixtures proceed while images of destruction and suffering continue to emerge day after day? Whether intentional or not, we risk normalising what should never be normal. We risk sending the message that there are no consequences, human rights are secondary and international law is optional. Those who oppose sporting boycotts often argue that athletes should not be punished for the actions of government. That is a serious argument, one that deserves consideration. However, sporting sanctions have never been primarily about individual athletes. They are about international pressure. They are about signalling that the global community cannot continue with business as usual while grave violations are taking place. History shows us that sporting isolation can be a powerful non-violent tool. It allows ordinary people to take a stand without causing harm. It provides peaceful means of expressing collective outrage and demanding change. We need Ireland to advocate nationally and internationally for Israel's exclusion from sports competitions while the destruction of Palestine continues. Ireland should support sporting bodies which choose not to participate in fixtures involving Israel. A sport does not exist in a vacuum. Every generation is tested. Every generation faces moments when remaining silent becomes the choice itself. Sport cannot stop war, rebuild a city or bring back those who have been lost, but sport can send a message. It can declare that human rights still matter, international law still matters and that no nation, regardless of power and influence, should be exempt from accountability. If we truly believe that sport has the power to unite and represent our values, then we must ensure that those values include justice, equality and human dignity.

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