Rose Conway-Walsh presses on Occupied Territories Bill, plane refuel

Obviously, we all welcome the ceasefire and we wait with bated breath, but I think what the important thing is, Taoiseach, is what's within our capacity here and the commitments that have already been made. So my question to you is on the Occupied Territories Bill. Is the Occupied Territories Bill going to be implemented in this term of the Dáil? Will that include goods and services? And can you comment, as the previous speaker said, can you comment on the authorisation by the Tánaiste of the plane that landed to refuel on its way to Israel over the weekend? Go or ma'am. Thank you and thanks to all the deputies who have raised a variety of questions. I think Deputy Malcolm Byrne has raised a very, very important issue in terms of Russia's aggression against Europe. And I was at an event in the United Nations chaired by Prime Minister Kearney and President Zelensky in respect of the 20,000 and their respective spouses in respect of the 20,000 abducted children. And Ireland is providing support and will continue to provide support. And I would like to be in a position to support certain research in respect of those children to get them back. It's an appalling crime that has occurred in respect of that. And then the deputy has referenced the violation of airspace in Estonia, Romania, Poland and other countries and most recently Denmark. I mean, this is where all European leaders were gathering at an informal gathering and the European political community was gathering. And as I've said at that meeting, you know, one accident, two accident, there's a pattern. And there's a pattern of behaviour from the Russian government, President Putin over the last year and a half or more, which is aggressive and poses a risk to European security and defence, particularly vital subsea critical infrastructure, many of our utilities through cyber attacks and hybrid attacks, drones or other type of attacks. And the Baltics, Poland and others have experienced these on their territory. It is very serious. There is no sense in this house at all about how grave the situation is. At best, you could say it is reckless. It's also happening in the United Kingdom. It's reckless, these hybrid type attacks. And I think we do need a debate under Doyle on it to increase the level of awareness in this house as to what actually is happening and what Russia is up to. And I repeat, critical subsea infrastructure is at risk from these kind of activities. Our utilities, we had the HSE attack and so on some years ago, are at risk. And we do have to improve capability. Deputy Brennan added to this, and I'll come back to Deputy Brennan's point earlier. Deputy Brennan raised, like, I do believe we have to coordinate with fellow member states in Europe in terms of our, to protect against these cyber attacks, to protect against, to share knowledge, and to share information as to where some of the Shadow Fleet are loitering, where the Shadow Fleet are turning up, and so on like that. So we do have to work with our like-minded member states, you know, in order to make sure that we know what's going on, and that others know what's going on, and that it's coordinated. And we will continue to coordinate and to work with others to gain knowledge and so on. Cyber security can't be defended against without working with others. It's about sharing knowledge, expertise, and information. And that's why we have an individually tailored plan with NATO in terms of the issue of cyber security, subsea cables, in terms of knowledge and expertise and mentoring and training and so on like that, because it's needed. And we need to get over any screamishness about that in the world we live in today, because otherwise, if people don't believe this stuff, your head is in the sand in terms of the threats that are out there now. And Deputy Borne and Brennan have outlined them in no uncertain terms. And so that's what I have to say right now. And we are taking all of it very seriously. We had a discussion on energy security earlier, and there is, you know, there's no question. Ships have been loitering, and Russia is gathering information all the time in respect of critical economic infrastructure that everyone in Europe depends on and the world depends on. Deputy Moynihan raised the issue of Sudan. Sudan is one of the few deputies that has raised here. Sudan is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The worst. I spoke with Secretary of the UN, Kateriis at the UN on Sudan. And what's very disquieting about Sudan is the behaviour of other countries in the region who are either supporting one side or the other and using both sides as proxies in this war. countries who would have a different perspective on Gaza. Okay. And the two don't match that easily. And there's an inconsistency in the approach, to say the least. But millions are starving. I think up to 12 to 15 million have been displaced in Sudan, and South Sudan is in a challenging position as well. And we are constantly raising it at the European Union Forum and the UN to see what can be done to bring this to a resolution. On Gaza, the Deputy Karul is correct. And I would pay tribute to President Trump for getting a ceasefire. It should have happened earlier. And I would say that what needs to happen, and I think, you know, I thank you for paying tribute to our diplomatic corps, because people wanted us to, you know, break up diplomatic relations, call back our ambassadors from Israel and other places. You know, our ambassador in Israel has worked hard under a lot of pressure, but has represented Ireland well, and Irish citizens, both in Gaza or on the flotilla or wherever. Our ambassador in Israel has been to the fore and providing consular services and doing our best to make sure that all people don't come to any harm. And our ambassador in Cairo has been superb throughout this entire period in facilitating people to leave Gaza. And our ambassadors in Jordan and in the UAE, they've all worked together. And don't ever underestimate the importance of diplomatic relationships in terms of doing the basic necessities and being there to keep the channel of communications open. And I'm glad we didn't break off diplomatic relations for that reason. among others. I also want to pay tribute to the medics of Gaza. I think Dr Martin-Daley, the TD, has raised that with me. There are people who, you know, and Dr Daley has suggested to me, written to me, that they should be getting a Nobel Peace Prize for what the medics of Gaza have done in the most extraordinary of circumstances. the most extraordinary of circumstances. and on the huge threat to their lives. Many did die. But the work they did is quite exceptional and should be recalled right now. Over time, no attention. And Deputy Coplinger, you did raise a number of... I mean, again, you have a tendency to distort. We shouldn't be... There's nothing wrong with saying that young music followers who were abducted for no reason at all... I just want to make the point. But the problem is, everything gets qualified. Everything gets cabbyted. I make no apology for saying it's a good day that those hostages were released. And I did, in this X, I said, and an end to the slaughter. I've been saying this consistently. If you just check all my remarks on social media, I've been very strong on the genocide against civilians in Gaza, on the slaughter of innocent children. And yes, there's been a lot of detainees without any trials or without any evidence. Others are detained who have history. Like, you'll never condemn Hamas for some reason. I've never heard you condemn Hamas in this room. I've never heard you condemn what Hamas did on October the 7th. To conclude, no, please. Deb Dean Morphe has never condemned Hamas. No, I get answers, but... Sorry, but... That is shocking, though, and it deserves debate here. You keep... You're attacking me for not having precision in terms of... We have no use of time for... I find it extraordinary that we don't have unanimity in the House in terms of the condemnation of Hamas's appalling attack. On... Sorry, to ask it as a conclusion. And the... So... And, by the way, I've never moved on from Gaza and I don't intend to move on from Gaza. I visited Gaza in 2009 after that war. And we have always been consistent as a country. The party that I lead was the first party in Europe, in government, to recognise the right of Palestinians to a homeland. So it matters to our party. So let's not try and out-virtue each other here. And we'll say what we feel... We'll say it in the context of our informed perspective and evidence-based approach to these issues. And Deputy Morphy, in terms of the Occupied Territories Bill, is in committee. I've always repeatedly said in terms of services that we need to assess that in terms of... And the Attorney-General is coming back to us on a number of fronts. One, it's implementability, by the way. And the feedback I'm getting is not just implementable. But secondly, are you putting companies-based air in a very difficult position through no fault of their own in respect of how that would be treated in the United States? But these are ongoing matters and we're waiting for reports back. And in terms... You've now brought up... I would have to talk to the Attorney-General. We've gone way over time. I apologize. I'm sorry. We have to move on to the next order of business. Here's where I will be I suppose It's not just resultado of business We've got the tech of business I suppose we were going off on something with what could not do in fair enough in require