I thank Deputy Doherty. If I can, I will take the opportunity to inform the House exactly what the current situation is with the 14 Irish citizens who have been detained. The Government has been very clear in condemning the actions of the Israeli Government and the illegal detention and detainment of our citizens and many others in international waters. The behaviour this week by an Israeli Minister has been completely appalling. My priority and that of the Government has been to make sure that our citizens are safe, that they are accounted for and that they can get home as quickly as possible. I can now confirm that the 14 Irish citizens who were being detained in Israel have arrived at the airport in Ramon. They are all being transported by air to Istanbul. We will have an ambassador there on the ground to meet with them directly. We have consistently called for access and the ability to engage directly with them by our teams, and that has been denied to us. I utterly condemn these actions. Whether it is the Irish Government or any other government, it is not acceptable that we have been prevented from engaging and speaking directly to citizens. I am also aware that there are reports that two citizens have been hospitalised. They are not Irish citizens. Again, this information has been brought to my attention. We are aware of reports that others have been injured. As soon as I can, I will provide an update to the House as to whether that includes any Irish citizens. Again, let me be very clear about these actions. The illegal detention, the way in which our citizens have been detained - we all saw the footage and are horrified by it - and also the fact that we have not had direct contact with our citizens are completely unacceptable. Not only have I condemned this and engaged and written directly to the Israeli authorities, but I am working to build a consensus within the EU to make sure that this is not just words and condemnation, but that we respond appropriately. The most appropriate way in which we can respond to this is by making sure the proposal that has been on the table since last year, by the Commission, to suspend the trade element of the EU-Israel association agreement is voted on and that Europe sends a very strong message that we do not accept this kind of behaviour, but also that there is movement when it comes to the banning of trade with the illegal settlements. From my perspective, I can confirm that I will bring forward the occupied territories Bill in the coming weeks, irrespective of whether we reach a consensus at a European level, and we will enact that legislation, as I have committed to do as Minister for foreign affairs and as the Government has committed to do in our programme for Government. In relation to the overall crisis and the scenario that many people find themselves in, we all want to do everything we can to ensure we reduce the cost price and reduce energy prices for people, but also that we make energy more affordable in the long term. We all know that a number of different factors have impacted on the cost of energy, fuel and electricity, not least the conflict in the Middle East and the escalating conflict in Iran in recent weeks. This is on top of the conflict that has been happening in Ukraine. In my role as Minister for foreign affairs, my priority at a European level is to engage with our partners in the Middle East, the US and beyond to bring this conflict to an end because that is the first point in making sure that we can de-escalate the situation and see costs reducing overall for people in the immediate term. In the immediate term, we have introduced measures to support homeowners. The €750 million that we are providing directly to homeowners is on top of measures that have been introduced since last year. Excise is already zero rated on home heating oil. It is not possible to reduce it further-----
Sentiment score: 0.01
-----but we made a decision last year that we needed to respond directly and that is what we have done. The fuel allowance, which supports over 400,000 people who are directly and most impacted by the increases in the cost of fuel, has been extended so a further 50,000 households have benefitted from that payment, and it has been extended by four weeks to take into consideration the situation that people are in. That is not to say that we will not do more. We have another budget coming up and acknowledge the stress the people are under, and we will continue to provide direct supports as well as trying to adjust the overall long-term costs that people are facing.
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Does the Deputy not understand that in the past month and a half alone, the Government has provided €750 million directly to homeowners, to people who get into their cars every day and go to work and to businesses that transport food and all of the commodities around the country and bring our children to school? That €750 million has not come nowhere. That is from our taxpayers, our Exchequer and this Government. That decision was taken, and it is not on its own. It is on top of the direct supports that we have provided.
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The Deputy is talking about €178 million. Some €750 million has been provided in the past month and a half alone. That is on top of the additional fuel allowance that we have provided, and on top of the retrofitting-----
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-----that is taking place because the best thing we can do for people is to make sure that their overall energy bills come down-----
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-----and we have a target of 74,000 homes that we want to retrofit this year. That is on top of the hundreds of thousands of people who have had their homes retrofitted and who are now seeing an overall and long-term reduction in the costs of their energy bills. If we look at the ESRI report published in April, it said that the most effective supports-----
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-----are those targeting the least well off and that is exactly what we are doing. We are targeting those who need our help the most with-----
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-----with €750 million in the past month and a half.
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I thank the Deputy. I fully agree with him and everybody in this House, in that I am equally appalled by the actions of the Israeli Government in the detention of our citizens and many others in international waters but in particular the footage we saw yesterday that clearly shows that people were not treated with basic human dignity or respect. As I said to the Deputy's colleague earlier, if this is the way that European citizens are being treated, we can only imagine the way in which many other citizens have been treated. I also agree with the Deputy that this is not just the first action by any one minister. The comments by Prime Minister Netanyahu really are hollow because this is just another action to add to a series of actions. We see ongoing conflict in Gaza. Even though there is supposed to be a ceasefire, hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed. We are seeing a continued lack of aid and a blockading of aid getting to innocent civilians who are starving and who need this humanitarian aid. We are seeing a significant expansion in settler violence. Hundreds of thousands of people - not small villages or towns - are being displaced. We are seeing the death penalty being reintroduced and very public celebration of public trials and executions, all of which are completely against international law and completely intolerable for each and every one of us in this Chamber. Over the past few months, I have been building on the work that was done last year to try to build a consensus on how we can respond effectively at an EU level because I agree with the Deputy. Our words are not enough. I condemn the actions but that is not enough. We now need to show what we mean by our actions. I have been building a consensus and working to put more actions on the table that we can vote on and show that we are serious at an EU level. That came to pass last week when a proposal from the Commission that had been on the table last year was reintroduced at the request of myself and my Spanish and Slovenian colleagues. It proposed to impose sanctions on violent settlers in the West Bank and those in the Israeli Government who support them as well as the leaders of Hamas who have carried out atrocities in recent years. That proposal was agreed, passed and will come into effect. I am now asking and pushing for a vote at the next Foreign Affairs Council, specifically on the suspension of the trade elements of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. This is an agreement that gives preferential treatment to Israel. If this element was suspended, it would impact the Israeli economy by billions of euro. It would send a very strong signal that we are serious, not just in our words but in pushing back on the atrocious actions that have been taken by the Israeli Government, many of which are in breach of international law. On the occupied territories Bill, I have given a very clear commitment today that I will bring forward the legislation. I will not just bring it forward but will enact it. I look forward to working with colleagues across the House to make sure we can enact it as soon as possible. That is in tandem with the work I will continue to do at an EU level to try to build that consensus and make sure the EU is stronger in its response because, to date, it has not been and I think we all accept that.
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I thank Deputy Nash. The commitments I have made here do not depend on each other. If we do not reach a consensus on a European level, that will not prevent me and the Government from brining forward the occupied territories Bill legislation and enacting it. Any legislation needs to be brought to Government beforehand, so I am not going to get into the details of it but I have been very clear. I have had engagement with the Attorney General to look at the overall legalities of what is being proposed and what is being asked by Deputies and what is within our legal remit, based on the fact that, as Deputy Nash knows, trade is an EU competency. However, we are talking about the occupied territories and it has been made very clear through international law, and the EU has agreed with this, that the occupied territories are illegal and so trade with them is illegal. That is why we are bringing forward this legislation and that is why we have not supported other legislation because trade, as a whole, is an EU competency. However, I am determined, working with other countries, to try to build that consensus, so we will reach an agreement and we will be strong in our response to what we have seen, not just today, but the myriad of decisions we have seen taken by the Israeli Government that, essentially, have led to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
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I thank the Deputy. The footage we saw yesterday speaks to the Deputy's point. One thinks one cannot be shocked further when it comes to the actions of the Israeli Government but then we see further footage that shocks again and again. While we do not have a direct report as to whether or not any of our Irish citizens have been physically harmed, because the Israeli Government has not let us to have direct contact with them, the very fact we saw an Irish woman in that video being forcibly shoved to the ground and all of the citizens being detained with their hands bound behind their back and faces on the ground in itself is treatment which is absolutely appalling. Of course, my priority is to understand as soon as possible whether or not there has been any further serious harm done to our citizens and, indeed, any other citizens. When they arrive in the airport, they will be met by our ambassador in Istanbul. I hope before then we will have direct contact but, if not, we will have direct contact with our citizens then. I hope to get more information to the Houses beyond that. The only way in which we can respond to this effectively is by making sure Europe uses its voice and takes action in response to what we have seen today, what we have seen in recent weeks and what we have seen in recent months. I stress again that the approach from Ireland has always been to try to build a consensus. I am not just saying it now because of what has happened this week. We have, for many months, been very clear in ensuring this remains on the agenda for the Foreign Affairs Council and advocating for a consensus, a joined up approach and response to what has been happening in Gaza, in the West Bank and more recently the actions we have seen around the death penalty, the public executions and prosecutions as well as the interception this week. The best way we can show we are serious is by voting to suspend the trade elements of the EU-Israeli Association Agreement. It is by putting a new proposal on the table that would ban trade with the illegal occupied territories. We know it is illegal. Europe has accepted the international ruling in this regard. We need to be strong and we need to collectively respond to this ruling and then move on our own legislation as well. I have always said that I believe moving on our legislation would be better if done in tandem, and I have not changed that position. That is why I am working with colleagues from the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia and other countries who are also progressing their own legislation, so we do this collectively and send a very strong message. The way in which we show not just dissatisfaction with the way in which the Israeli Government has been acting, but that it is something Europe will not tolerate is by imposing greater sanctions that will impact their economy overall. If we suspend the trade elements of the EU-Israeli Association Agreement it will, essentially, impact Israel's overall economy by billions of euro. I believe that is the strongest response we can take at this time.
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I will work closely with Kaja Kallas, who is the High Representative and who chairs the meeting but who I will be working closely with throughout the Presidency, to ensure that the situation in the Middle East, in Gaza and in the West Bank, is firmly on the agenda and that a number of actions will be taken. Ireland will have to be a neutral arbiter as we are for any of the files or Councils that we chair and that happen throughout our Presidency. I assure Deputy O'Gorman, as has been the case in my discussions with Kaja Kallas, that we will have this particular issue firmly on the agenda. There are a number of things I believe we need to do more on. We need to press not just the votes that I have spoken about on the EU-Israel association agreement, the banning of trade, the sanctions we approved last week, but also the need for greater levels of humanitarian access. At every single Council meeting I attend we get an update from the Commission saying that not enough aid is getting in. We are seeing figures being put out that do not reflect the fact that half of the trucks going in do not have food but only products that can be sold that people cannot afford. There is so much we need to do at a European level to keep this on the agenda. I am absolutely determined to do so and I assure the Deputy that this matter will be kept on the agenda during Ireland's Presidency.
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. While I know he is specifically talking about somebody with cancer or a long-term illness and the implications for them and their families long term, this could apply to a number of different scenarios for people. As a country, how we treat those who are at their most vulnerable is a testament to who we are. It is a sign of who we are as a Government, as a society and as a community. The Government that I have been a part of - not just now but in previous years - has always strived and focused on looking at how we can support those who need our help most, how we can support those who are not in a position to work first and foremost perhaps because of illness, a disability or other factors in their lives and how we can ensure that those who work for most of their lives and contribute at the higher or lower rate of tax but through no fault of their own find themselves in a situation where they cannot work and provide for themselves or their family are provided with the support they are entitled to. As the Deputy said, we have, I believe, made good progress in recent years. We have made good progress when it comes to supporting people who are self-employed, where before there was no ability to support them if they were suddenly not able to work. That is through a new contributory process introduced in recent years. We now have extended statutory sick leave in a number of formats. It is an area in which we always need to strive to do more. From the situation the Deputy has outlined, I am thinking in particular of somebody I knew myself, who sadly, has passed away. For this person, even things like getting home insurance because of a long-term illness became such a challenge, even with a partner working. The Government is moving to try to address this. We want to make sure that if people are in remission or on the mend, they are able to get on with their lives, because that is what people want to do. They do not want to be seen with a heading or a bracket over them for the rest of their lives. The Deputy has made a proposal with potential changes that we could put in place to support people who cannot work, who are in long-term unemployment and where it does not look like returning to work is a possible avenue for them, where we seek to align the supports they get more in line with where they were in their previous career. Again, I think of an example in my own constituency, albeit not the same in terms of an illness. Workers in Tara Mines were on a particular salary and were laid off for an indefinite period. The Government came together to support them to try to put in place a mechanism that filled much of the gap between their previous salary and what they were getting from the State. The point the Deputy has made is one we all support and I have not doubt the Minister for Social Protection will do so in the upcoming budget. More generally, when it comes to our overall taxation measures, we should look at how we can support people who are at their most vulnerable and not in a position to go back to work because of health or other reasons but who want to be able to get on with the rest of their lives.
Sentiment score: 0.12
What we need to do is build on what we have and always try to improve the system. When we live in a country where our economy is growing strong because of the people the Deputy mentioned who have contributed to it for many years, we need to ensure that we are reinvesting in those people, our communities and our economy and, in particular, targeting those who need our help the most. I have no doubt that the proposal the Deputy has put forward could be the first step of a process. Everything starts with a process and it is about engaging with the right people and making sure that anything we provide is targeted. It is also about making sure that where there are opportunities for people to work perhaps in different fields or in a different area that might be less pressurised and might still provide them with some form of income, we do that. This has been a priority over the past number of years, particularly post the economic crash from 2011 or so. We need to continue to look at ways in which we can support people back into the workplace, into different types of work while recognising and acknowledging that there are some people who simply cannot and how do we support them at a time when they need it.
Sentiment score: 0.31