Today is the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Quite honestly, there are double standards in this Government and the western world with regard to their attitude to the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the massacre which Israel has visited on the people of Gaza, the brutality which it continues to visit on the West Bank, the ongoing apartheid for decades, the illegal occupation, ethnic cleansing and the killing of Palestinians with impunity. I know that these are only symbols but the contrast is summed up with the fact that today, for two years, we have had the Ukrainian flags flying here, but we cannot fly the Palestinian flag, even though the local authorities in Dún Laoghaire, in south Dublin, in Fingal and in Cork are flying the Palestinian flag in solidarity with the suffering of the Palestinian people. Why is the Palestinian flag not flying outside on a day when they have suffered genocide at the hands of Israel?

It is clear as a Government that we have continued to support the Palestinian people in the position we have taken on a two state solution. We have consistently called for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be provided. That is the position we have taken and we have clearly shown, not just by our actions or by flags, but by the actions we have taken and the direction that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have taken, to ensure that we do everything in our power to protect those who are currently under fire, quite literally.