Mattie McGrath: Condemns Gaza abuses, defends Irish neutrality

Deputy Martin McGrath. Good morning, I too am glad to be able to speak today on this pre-European Council statement. I would like to congratulate warmly and welcome the nomination of Michael McGrath, a namesake and good friend and colleague for years, to the position of Commissioner. I hope that the different political machinations that are here and the interactions on the fringes of the European Council, with other colleagues on over Europe, will ensure that Deputy McGrath gets a very, very high-powered and indeed prestigious economic post, because he is an accountant by trade and he is an exceptional TD and also services minister. So I hope that we will now get a commissioner that he will be fitting for the job and wish him well in that and hopefully, as I said, that Taoiseach and Tarniste will lobby the groups and minister Ryan for that position. And that would be beneficial, obviously, to be a commissioner for all of Europe, but that was a caring eye over Aira. Two, I also want to say that the situation in Gaza is just abominable and it's ongoing. And, you know, see, last week where an unfortunately injured person, a man was strapped to the bonnet of an army jeep and driven down the road. Like, it's just horrific. There's no bounds with Israelis, what they're trying to do and will do. And I think that our vice has been lost in some way because we should have been, as the last speaker Deputy Crowe said, we could have been blamed of some people accusing themselves of being supposed to have a mess, which were anything but or couldn't envisage anything because, remember, the horrific attack that they have carried out at the start of this and, indeed, the many, many attacks they've carried out over the decades. So, we can't be a patsy for them. But that's why I think now Tarnasher, Martin, you know, his different comments over the last couple of years at Taoiseach and the Tarnasher about our outdated neutrality and, you know, outdated message of outdated wording and the different, you know, bandwagons that he had going around the country to four or five meetings. Morayat was, all the NGOs rounded up and all the usual suspects and especially pick chair to change what I believe a situation that has stood us well in this country in previous wars and in other issues. And we had more clout and were respected better when we maintained that direct line, that direct focus, you know, considerate position of being neutral. And the assistance and the path we played in many conflicts all over the world, our troops, our Irish soldiers from the Congo on and, indeed, on to many others since. And, indeed, as we mentioned, it's a shame, but still, that the men of the Congo in that famous battle, that haven't got the due recognition that they deserve Jadaville. Those people, one of them died recently and many of them are elderly and infirm and they should get that recognition and it should be, I mean, in some cases, we're not able to get justice for people here in Ireland. Maybe the European area could, the European cooperation could maybe give us that nudge along that they deserve to get to respect the battle of heroic deeds that they fought that day and held off for so long. The story's been well told, but they haven't been recognised, but getting back to the tomorrow's meetings, I think we need to assert ourselves more, you know, independently and more urgently and in, at the European level and European affairs. And we, as I said, when we compare the migration pact debate here and the fact that they give 10 years debating it segment by segment at the European level. So maybe we can learn a lot from the Europeans in the way they do their business, while many of us reject many issues that they pass over there. Some of the outgoing MEPs are suggesting that 75% of legislation that we have here now comes in from Europe, but at least they debate it and discuss it segment by segment, whereas we're taking a whole package of the migration pact here and just not debating it segment by segment, not having any question and answer, having no legal or even parliamentary scrutiny worthwhile on it and in a decent haste to put it true. So I suppose the vote will be true tonight, it'll be going off cocksure or t-shirt or whoever's attending, that we're the great buyers again of Europe. We passed this pact that we didn't even question it and that's what we like to be in Europe and I think that's damaging to ourselves to what it seems like dogs and just lackeys that take anything they give us and then we don't have the respect of other countries when we don't stand up for ourselves, stand up for our nation and our people, which is our, as I said, our duty here under the constitution. Go raibh maigus. Go raibh maigus.