It has been almost two weeks since a horrendous tragedy unfolded at an EU border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla, where close to 40 refugees fleeing war and persecution were killed. Some of them were crushed up against the border fences. Others were beaten to death by members of a border force of Morocco that is funded by the European Union. This is a graphic illustration of the two-faced and racist policy of fortress Europe. I asked the Taoiseach about this matter last week. I asked him to condemn the killings and to call for an independent investigation. He did neither of those things. He did not even express condolences with those who were killed. Instead, he accused me of being a propagandist for raising this issue. Since then, the UN Secretary General has made a statement about the matter in which he indicated that he was shocked by the killings and he opposed the excessive use of force. I want to give the Government another chance to oppose the killings, to criticise the killings that happened, to express its condolences and to support the call for an investigation into how this happened.

I do not know all the facts relating to that incident, but of course we convey our condolences to those who have been bereaved. We condemn all violent acts that lead to people being killed. I cannot go beyond that because I do not know all of the facts relating to this terrible incident in which so many people lost their lives. I will ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, to reflect on what Deputy Paul Murphy has said and come back to him with a formal Government position.