Gaza is on the edge of famine. It is man-made starvation caused by the deliberate actions of the Israeli Government. This comes on top of the horror and the brutality we have already seen. The European Council meeting is coming up at the end of this week. What actions will the Taoiseach be asking for from our European colleagues on this? We need a strong European response. In the absence of one, will the Taoiseach commit to Ireland acting alone, which we have a moral imperative to do here? We can do things like passing the divestment Bill and the occupied territories Bill, and through recognition. There are things that are within our power alone if we fail to get agreement from our European colleagues.

The last European Council meeting failed to reach any conclusions. I am attending it tomorrow and on Friday. It is definitely my objective to get to the point of having conclusions where the European Union as a whole unequivocally calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and the supply of adequate food, medicine and electricity to the Palestinian people living in Gaza, and a two-state solution. As the Deputy knows, when it comes to common foreign and security policy, the European Union acts unilaterally. Even one or two countries - they are a dwindling number - would be able to block conclusions, but that will be the objective. I have never taken the view that acting unilaterally is the right approach. It tends to make a country isolated, makes its voice less heard and has little effect on the ground. We do not have to act only on an EU level. We could act on certain things like recognition with a group of like-minded countries.