Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

In any other country, particularly those from Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority, people form queues after discussions to thank Ireland for its principled stand. That is what other countries say about Ireland. I include Jordan, Egypt - all of them. I am just saying that. It is only in here - maybe it is a good sign that people want us to be strong - we get the other kind of response.
We have been at the forefront of condemning what is going on in Gaza and the West Bank. I am seeking more effective ways than a football match, frankly, to try to change the Israeli direction and strategy. Israel's actions now through settlements in the West Bank threaten the two-state solution in a very serious way. We have availed of every opportunity within the EU and the international community to call for Israel to be held accountable. We have supported the International Criminal Court consistently. We have backed that up with very strong funding. During UN high-level week, I attended quite a number of sessions, including with the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution and an event hosted by Emmanuel Macron, Mark Carney, Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the Saudi Arabian foreign minister to mark a year since the New York declaration of the comprehensive peace plan. We have repeatedly called for the European Commission to act. Our long-standing position is that the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended or, at a minimum, that the trade elements be suspended. We will continue to work to maintain that particular focus.
We have provided very substantial funding to UNRWA and to Palestine more generally. We intervened, with Spain, in the South African International Court of Justice case against Israel under the Genocide Convention. We have made a submission to the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of Israel's actions in the occupied Palestinian territories. We have co-sponsored resolutions at the UN General Assembly to implement the court's advisory opinion. We recognised Palestine as a sovereign independent state long before other states did so at the time of the New York declaration.
Sorry, I did not realise my time was up. In terms of football, I genuinely believe it was a decision to be made by the football community. We have supported the FAI to the tune of, I think, about €192 million over many years since the last serious debacle it had in respect of governance and so on. I appeal to people not to focus on the players. Some of the campaigns the players have been subjected to have been appalling and unnecessary.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29