As I said to Ursula von der Leyen when she came to this Chamber in 2024, the inconsistency, hypocrisy and double standards of the European Union and, by and large, our own Government when it comes to foreign policy are stunning, shocking and unacceptable. The Government opens its statement, as is often the case - understandably - with reference to Ukraine. It rightly says that Putin is not interested in peace, he is an imperialist and it is a brutal, illegal and aggressive war. I have heard the Taoiseach describe Putin as imperialist, which is absolutely right. Putin believes he has the right to a sphere of influence around Russia, which he has no right to, and consequently denies the right to self-determination. When Donald Trump and his Administration produce a national security strategy that says they have the right to decide what happens in the whole of South America, Canada and Greenland, there is silence from the European Union. Whatever one may think about Maduro, and I do not think much of his authoritarian and corrupt regime, Donald Trump has no right to go in to Venezuela and militarily attack it, kidnap its President and his wife and kill hundreds of people in the process. Trump has no right whatsoever to Greenland or to threaten it and to talk about the easy way or the hard way. He has no right to threaten, as he has done, Cuba, Mexico and so on or to impose an American sphere of influence. In a strategy document Trump explicitly reasserts that the Monroe Doctrine applies to the whole American Continent. There is silence from the same people who get up and describe as unacceptable what Putin is doing, which, by the way, it is. There is a failure to call out the continuing arming by Trump, America and leading EU states of the genocidal massacre that continues against the people of Gaza and Palestine. Just to rub salt into the horrific wounds, Donald Trump invites Netanyahu over for new year's celebrations in his mansion. This man is evil. Putin is evil and Trump is evil but do European governments apply the same principles and standards to these two people? Not at all. They continue to tolerate it, be quite about it or, worse, reinforce the hypocrisy. They fail to condemn the shocking fact that Germany, Britain and France continue to provide weapons and so on to the Israeli regime, which is guilty of genocide and continues to deny aid getting into Gaza. I will get on to Iran shortly but at the same time that this Government is calling for escalating sanctions against Iran, it is simultaneously saying it has to dilute the occupied territories Bill, it is not sure if the Bill should include services and it is not sure when it will pass. We are two years into a genocidal massacre, when the Israeli Government is in the dock for crimes against humanity and genocide, but still there are no sanctions. Worse still, the Government's partners in Europe continue to arm the regime that is committing this. Apparently, however, our Government is horrified by the actions of the Iranian Government. I condemn absolutely the killings by the Iranian Government of protesters protesting about the cost of living, corruption and repression in Iran. The Government of Iran should be condemned and should stop killing protesters. It should engage with people fighting to reform that country and end the media and social media blackout, which is a disgrace. It is equally clear, however, that Trump has no role. Trump has threatened Iran militarily, while he is also threatening Greenland, attacking Venezuela and arming the genocide in Gaza. He has no part to play in Iran. He is a hypocrite who is only interested in oil and influence. He is killing protesters in his own country, having defended the assassination of a mother of three who was driving away from an ICE officer, and there are paramilitaries running around arresting people in US cities. Trump is nearly provoking a civil war in his own country. He has no role to play in Iran. The people of Iran should decide their own future. I stand with the protesters there but the hypocrisy of the European Union and Trump is absolutely stunning. It is disgraceful that our Government continues to give cover to it.
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What was I talking about?
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What was I talking about?
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He was making reference to me.
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He was making reference to me.
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First, I have to correct the record. I said explicitly that I condemn the Putin regime. I will do the same about the Chinese regime by the way, which is an authoritarian, brutal regime. I also said the Maduro regime was authoritarian and undemocratic. Is that good enough for Deputy O'Flynn? He should not misrepresent me.
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Do not misrepresent me. I am telling you now.
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Who is paying me? The Oireachtas is paying me, the same as it is paying you. The Irish public are paying me.
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Who is paying Deputy O'Flynn would be a better question. He says he supports Donald Trump.
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He said he supports Donald Trump.
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That is what he said.
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He said he supports Donald Trump.
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Yes, I have a question.
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Some of the hunger strikers in England, who are in prison and have been designated as terrorists by the British Government because they protested against British complicity with the genocidal massacre that Israel is conducting against the Palestinian people, have now been on hunger strike for more than 70 days - they are very near death - some for more than 66 days. Whatever the Minister of State thinks about their protest or about hunger strike as a tactic, these people were acting in good conscience against what they saw as crimes against humanity and they are facing death. Has the Irish Government made any representations whatsoever to the Starmer Government? The reason they are in prison is that he has designated people who did not hurt anyone as terrorists. Starmer is not representing the views of the vast majority of English people in doing that and now young people could die as a result. Does the Government have anything to say as these people face their possible death?
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To frame what I said in the initial statements as a question to the Minister of State, and I would appreciate a response, this follows on from the last question about Trump. The Government has repeatedly and rightly condemned Putin for believing he has the right to decide what happens in states around Russia, including what he has done with the illegal occupation of Ukraine. The Government has condemned that and called it imperialism. Will the Government condemn Trump's threats against his neighbours and the national security strategy his Administration has published which states it has the right to decide what goes on in South America and Venezuela and to threaten to take the easy way or the hard way in respect of Greenland? Whatever one may think about the Venezuelan Government, Donald Trump does not have the right to decide it. Does the Minister of State agree that is imperialism and should be condemned, opposed and challenged every bit as much as the condemnation that has come freely about what Putin has done in Ukraine?
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He can answer them in the five minutes.
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