Taoiseach and Tánaiste defend stance on Palestine and accuses Israel of genocide
The Taoiseach has defended the government's actions on Palestine, stating it was the first EU country to call Israel's actions genocide.
The Tánaiste also accused Israel of genocide in the Dáil for the first time this week.
Advertisement
The Government has been pressured to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, introduce powers to remove the Central Bank's role in allowing the sale of Israel Bonds in the EU, and to stop flights reportedly carrying munitions to the Middle East from passing through Ireland.
The Government recognised Palestinian statehood a year ago and has pushed for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Ireland has also intervened in South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Criminal Court (ICC), asking the court to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes genocide.
Simon Harris was pressed in the Dáil on Thursday on whether Israel was being treated differently to Russia and was accused of 'standing over a narrative that is utterly false' on the conflict in the Middle East.
Advertisement
Responding to independent TD Catherine Connolly, he said that a Bill banning the trade of goods with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands would be progressed to the foreign affairs committee in June.
Defending the government's stance, he said: 'We are the first government in the European Union to say what Israel is doing is genocide. It is genocide.
'We're working to support the people of Palestine and the only chamber I ever go into in the entire world where people don't acknowledge that Ireland, the government, the people of Ireland, are standing with the people of Palestine, standing up for human rights, standing up for international law, is here when you get up and distort – with your ideology – the actions of this government.
'I'm proud of the people of this country. I'm proud that we went into an election, and it didn't matter what party you were in, you stood up and said 'We are going to support the people of Palestine'.
Advertisement
'Get beyond yourself with this narrative of you have all the moral authority and we're a terrible people.
'I'm disgusted and sickened – sickened – watching children dying on our television screens and every day I come to work and work with all the people in here to do our best to show leadership at a time of horrific conflict.'
On Wednesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin defended his government's decision not to support Sinn Féin's Bill proposing to empower The Minister of Finance to end the Central Bank's role in facilitating the sale of Israel Bonds in the EU.
Ireland
'Calm and measured dialogue' required after Trump...
Read More
'We have been very consistent in our support to the Palestinian people and their right to self determination, and in condemning the war crimes and the genocide that is occurring right now,' Martin said in the Dáil.
Advertisement
He said: 'The focus has to be relentlessly on the policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government made up of extreme far-right elements who are committing genocide in Gaza right now.
'And the most effective way – let's call a spade a spade and you know it – the most effective way is to persuade as many member states within the European Union, and indeed United States, to pull its support from the state of Israel, in terms of what it's doing.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
37 minutes ago
- Reuters
Quarter of UK mental ill health benefit claimants expect to lose out from planned reforms, charity says
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Around one in four British people with poor mental health who claim welfare benefits expect to lose their entitlement under proposed government reforms, according to research published by a charity on Thursday. Britain's government aims to save 4 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) a year by 2029-30 through tightening the rules for claiming a benefit known as personal independence payment (PIP) designed to cover disability-related costs, whether a claimant is in work or not. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute said it interviewed 227 people with mental health conditions who receive PIP, which can be worth nearly 6,000 pounds a year. Some 24% of those surveyed said they expected to lose the benefit, while 39% were unsure if they would be affected. About one in five of those surveyed were in work, and nearly two thirds of them said reducing the benefit would make them work less, rather than more, due to difficulty affording transport costs or private mental health support. "Our analysis shows that these changes would actually result in many people with mental health problems who have a job cutting their hours or leaving the workplace altogether," the charity's chief executive, Helen Undy, said. PIP is paid to 3.7 million people in England and Wales, 6% of the population, and new claims have risen by two thirds in recent years. The government hopes that tighter eligibility rules will encourage more claimants to seek work. Under the government plans, claimants would need to have a severe difficulty in at least one area of daily life to qualify for the benefit, rather than a range of less severe problems. Britain's budget watchdog in March estimated that a third of claimants would be affected by the change, of whom around half would lose benefits after being reassessed. The new plans are subject to consultation until the end of the month. Finance minister Rachel Reeves has been under pressure from campaigners to reconsider, following a U-turn over a decision to scrap heating subsidies for most pensioners. ($1 = 0.7372 pounds)
Western Telegraph
40 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
UK must tackle energy bills as firms face £24bn in extra costs
Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the business group, will tell business leaders and politicians at the CBI's business dinner on Thursday that sky-high energy costs are an 'anchor on our ambition'. At the event in London, she will call on the Government to come up with a 'serious plan' to cut energy costs and invest in energy security to help make the UK and businesses more competitive. The CBI said almost 90% of British businesses have seen their energy bills rise over the past three years, with a third seeing them rocket by more than 50%. Four in 10 firms are reducing investment as a result, according to the group. Higher energy bills come on top of significant increases in staff costs, with the CBI estimating the recent rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) and past three minimum wage hikes since 2023-24 is costing companies an extra £24 billion each year. Ms Newton-Smith will say: 'Business is now straining under £24 billion in extra costs per year. 'That's more than the cost of Crossrail. More than the Home Office budget – on business, every year.' She will add: 'With costs running so high, there is one issue we absolutely must tackle. 'Without it, any industrial strategy, any serious plan for economic security will fall flat on its face. Energy.' She will say the rising cost of energy 'isn't just a cost issue'. 'It's a jobs issue. An investment issue. A security issue. 'Because how can UK business compete with one hand tied behind its back – and the other straining to keep the lights on? 'This is an anchor on our ambition. A crack in our economic security. And it must be fixed.' Britain is becoming less competitive for business and industry due to expensive energy, with firms finding it 'harder and harder to stay in the UK' when power is far cheaper abroad, according to the CBI. Ms Newton-Smith will warn UK firms 'pay among the highest electricity bills in the world – 50% more than France or Germany, four times more than the US and Canada'. The CBI is making a plea to the Government to remove policy costs from electricity bills, but it also wants it to focus on low-carbon energy to help achieve economic security. Its recent economic report showed the UK net zero economy grew 10% and supported 900,000 jobs. Ms Newton-Smith will say: 'If economic security is our destination, then make no mistake: affordable, reliable, low-carbon energy is the road that gets us there, 'What we need now is a serious plan alongside the industrial strategy: to cut energy costs, to manage the shift from fossil fuels, to boost efficiency, storage and system flexibility. 'This Government has already shown it can put prosperity over politics on the world stage. Well now it must do the same for energy at home. 'Because this isn't about culture wars. It's about common sense.' A Government spokesperson said: 'Through our sprint to clean power, we will get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets – protecting business and household finances with clean, homegrown energy that we control. 'We are already bringing energy costs for key UK industries closer in line with other major economies through the British industry supercharger – saving businesses £5 billion over the next 10 years.'
Western Telegraph
40 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Government facing increasing pressure to ban bottom trawling in protected areas
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said the fishing technique, which involves dragging heavy fishing nets across the seabed, as well as dredging and mining should be banned in offshore marine protected areas (MPAs). Campaigners have long been calling for an end to such activities that are still permitted in the UK's 178 MPAs. But these calls have been intensifying ahead of a major UN ocean conference that kicks off in Nice, France, next week. The issue recently came to attention after dramatic footage from Sir David Attenborough's new film on oceans captured the heavy metal chains of a bottom trawl net bulldozing through silt on the seafloor and scooping up species indiscriminately. Ministers must ensure that marine protected areas live up to their name Toby Perkins, EAC chairman In a report, published on Thursday, the EAC warned that the Government's 'failure to effectively manage gaps in the network of marine protected areas' is allowing these damaging activities to take place. Water minister Emma Hardy recently told the committee that the Government was 'committed to not having bottom trawling in areas that damage the MPAs, especially when they are attached to features that we are trying to protect'. But the EAC report highlighted that the Government has not set out a timeline for taking further action to protect the protected areas from the practice. It also raised concerns about the UK's marine policy statement, which guides planning decisions for the country's seas and was last published in 2011 followed by an update after Brexit. The MPs described it as 'outdated, not fit for purpose and no longer reflects Government policy or pressures on the marine environment'. Elsewhere, the committee criticised the UK's failure to ratify the UN ocean treaty – which aims to establish protected areas in international waters – or at least publish a timeline to introduce the required legislation to do so. In light of this, the group of MPs said they are 'concerned' that the protection of the ocean is not demonstrably a priority for the Government and urged the Government to ratify the treaty no later than this September. The UK's marine policy statement guides planning decisions for the country's seas (Alamy/PA) The treaty will not come into force until ratification by 60 countries, with the current number standing at 28. Toby Perkins, EAC chairman, said: 'UK waters are teeming with complex ecosystems that are not only precious in their own right but also critical to sustaining the delicate balance of marine life. 'Ministers must ensure that marine protected areas live up to their name.' In its report, the EAC urged the Government to press ahead with banning bottom trawling in offshore protected areas where it presents the most risk, update the UK's marine policy statement and set out a timeline for ratifying the UN treaty. Damaging and extractive activities are completely banned only in 'highly protected marine areas' – of which the UK has just three, compared with the 178 MPAs, which cover 51% of inshore and 37% of offshore waters. The committee recommended the Government expand this network to 10% of UK waters by 2030 to meet its biodiversity targets, based on evidence of their effectiveness in marine nature recovery. It also called for a plan to designate more HMPAs to be published by January 2026. The PA news agency has contacted the Environment Department (Defra) for comment.
