Danny Healy-Rae Condemns Starvation of Civilians, Calls for Ceasefire
Danny Healy-Rae spoke about mayhem in another country, condemning the starvation of children, elders and women and urging immediate action. He called on Hamas to release hostages, demanded a ceasefire and urged Europe and Ireland to be more humane in their response.
He described the situation as barbaric, emphasising that children, old people and women are being starved and denied water. He said it was unbearable to see such hunger in this age and urged people to stand up and be counted.
He explicitly said that Hamas was "very wrong" and should release the remaining hostages. He called for an immediate ceasefire, saying the violence must stop and humanitarian needs be addressed.
He welcomed the Taoiseach's remarks made earlier in the day and argued that Ireland and Europe must take stronger measures - sanctions or other actions - to press for more humane treatment and relief for the affected civilians.
He said people in Israel were rising up against Netanyahu and accused him of lacking humanity in his actions toward innocent children and families. He warned that the situation was escalating and that political leaders must be held to account.
He recalled family memories of hunger from his grandparents and compared the current scenes to the atrocities of the Second World War and Auschwitz, saying the crisis is a present-day reality visible in news coverage. He urged members of the Irish parliament to speak out, even if it offends others.
Speech focus
He described the situation as barbaric, emphasising that children, old people and women are being starved and denied water. He said it was unbearable to see such hunger in this age and urged people to stand up and be counted.
Calls for hostages and ceasefire
He explicitly said that Hamas was "very wrong" and should release the remaining hostages. He called for an immediate ceasefire, saying the violence must stop and humanitarian needs be addressed.
Praise for the Taoiseach and appeal to Europe
He welcomed the Taoiseach's remarks made earlier in the day and argued that Ireland and Europe must take stronger measures - sanctions or other actions - to press for more humane treatment and relief for the affected civilians.
Criticism of leaders and political consequences
He said people in Israel were rising up against Netanyahu and accused him of lacking humanity in his actions toward innocent children and families. He warned that the situation was escalating and that political leaders must be held to account.
Personal and historical context
He recalled family memories of hunger from his grandparents and compared the current scenes to the atrocities of the Second World War and Auschwitz, saying the crisis is a present-day reality visible in news coverage. He urged members of the Irish parliament to speak out, even if it offends others.
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Transcript
Deputy Danny, can you there? Thanks. Thanks, Classroom caller. I'm glad to get the opportunity just to say a few words about this mayhem that's taking place in our time in another country. I know that Ireland can do very little, but we need to stand up and be counted. And what's happening is barbaric when we see children and old people and women and they're being starved. I mean, in this day and age that people are being starved and in case you don't know about it, I know what hunger is from my grandfather and my grandmother telling me when people were hungry here and what they went through and what they had to go through when they didn't have anything to eat and they were poor at times. But gladly, that's not the case here in Ireland today. There's no one hungry like that, or they needn't be or shouldn't be. But it's terrible to starve people and not even maybe to have water and to think that this is happening. I was glad to hear the Taoiseach talking today in the manner that he did. It's very important that he did. We have to play some part by sanctions or whatever and drive it home to Europe that they have to be more human. And what we're talking about is a bit of humanity. And what Hamas doing was very wrong and very wrong and they should release the rest of the hostages because surely they're not blind to what's happening or what they're causing to happen and stop it and enact a ceasefire right away because it's terrible. And I have youngsters that, you know, playing football and different things and they're asking the question, why can't we do something for these people? I know we can do very little, but we need to stand up and say what we feel because it's terrible and it's in our time. We're members of the Irish Parliament here and we must talk out. And I mean, we may offend others by doing this, but so be it. It's gone too far and it's gone way too far. And to think that children are going to starve to hunger, my God Almighty, what is the world coming to it all? And they can't be left to get away with this. Even I see that the Israeli ornery people are rising up against Netanyahu. What kind of a... He's not a man. There's no humanity at all in him to do what he's doing to innocent children that don't know what's going on, starving with the hunger, thirsty and their parents and their families broke up and no account of each other. You couldn't imagine that this is happening in our age, in this time that we're living in. We have the atrocities of the Second World War and Auschwitz and all those things that happen, terrible things. And we see films being made about it. But this is reality. This is what's happening in front of our eyes. And we can see it in the news every morning, noon and night. And worse and worse it's getting. And to think that Europe are making so little bit, it's disappointing and we're part of Europe. Thank you very much. Let's go, Paul. Thank you.