A statement made by Joe Biden to the effect that Israel has an ironclad guarantee of US support is making headline news today. We should all acknowledge that this is no surprise whatsoever. Israel has always had an ironclad guarantee of US support. The US has always had Israel's back, particularly during the genocide in Gaza. The only thing the US has ever done is urge Israel to be careful, to use caution and to be precise. Now, it has doubled down on what has been a legacy of complete support for Israel since the Second World War. Something of the order of $318 billion - a huge amount of money - in military aid has been given to Israel since the end of the Second World War by the US alone. A third of all military aid to Israel comes from Germany, a country which, we should note, is clamping down seriously on its own population in terms of opposition to the war in Gaza. Deputy Boyd Barrett is due to attend an international conference on Gaza in Berlin tomorrow. The conference has been banned by the German Government. These are the people the Tánaiste wants us to align and to become partners with an attempt to ditch our neutrality when he speaks about bringing a Bill to this House to get rid of the triple lock. In the meantime, however, the Government is doing absolutely nothing.

I back the sentiment from Deputy Bacik on this matter. She did not go as far as I will, but she did state that we need to do more. We need to be seen to do more in terms of sanctions on Israel. At this point, I and those involved in the movement on the streets believe - we keep repeating it, our belief is getting bigger and stronger and the voice of the Irish people is getting louder - that we need to expel the Israeli ambassador from this country. I ask the Tánaiste not to tell me we need to keep diplomatic channels open. Diplomatic channels have done nothing to save the lives of thousands of innocent Gazan women and children. They are like fish in a pond when it comes to the onslaught of the Israelis, who are shooting and brutally killing them day and night.

Netanyahu can comfortably say that nothing on earth is going to stop him. He said that two days ago. Nothing on earth will stop him, not even the EU or the US. If we do not act, we will, by absence of deed, be complicit in supporting Netanyahu. It is very good that the Government is going to recognise the state of Palestine, but look at the state of it. It is in absolute bits. Gaza has been flattened, and the West Bank has no meaningful territory left because of the violence perpetrated by and the encroachment of settlers there. We will recognise the state of Palestine, but we must also recognise that it is time to take action as a matter of urgency. The one thing we need to do is to end the use of Shannon Airport. The US military has been using Shannon Airport more frequently. We do not check its planes.

I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

We do not know whether the hardware being used to kill women and children in Gaza is being brought through the airport. It is a disgraceful compromise in the context of our position of neutrality to allow that not just to happen but to happen more frequently.

I thank the Deputy. Please, the time is up.

The Government needs to make a statement on ending the use of Shannon Airport by the US military.

Before calling on the Tánaiste to respond, I ask Members to join me in extending a céad mile fáilte to the Governor of Delaware, John Carney, who has just joined us in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. Governor Carney is proud of his Irish heritage, having great-grandparents on both sides of his family. I also welcome Consul General Helena Nolan, who accompanies the Governor today. They are both very welcome and it is good to have them here.

I have several points to make to the Deputy. In terms of diplomacy, the Deputy scoffed at and scorned it. More than 70 Irish citizens and their dependants have been evacuated from Gaza. The importance of diplomatic relationships or channels cannot be overstated in the context of getting those 70 citizens and their dependants out. Our ambassador in Israel, Sonya McGuinness, has done exceptional work there, as have our representative to the Palestinian Authority and our ambassador in Cairo.

The Deputy's colleagues have pleaded with me to try to facilitate the evacuation of more people from Gaza. I put it to her that, realistically, if her view had taken root much earlier and if we had expelled the ambassador on day one, those 70 people would not have got out.

The Deputy can reflect on that whatever she wishes, but in my view that is the reality of the situation. I have received calls to expel the Russian ambassador and I have received calls to expel the Iranian ambassador. We need a debate in the House and an understanding of what diplomacy is about. It is not about endorsing any government or regime. Diplomacy is about maintaining channels of communication and especially in times of terrible conflict and war. We need to keep the channels open.

All of us in this House agree the humanitarian situation is shocking. I do not think there should be any disagreement in the House about the need to have an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Irish people are repulsed and outraged at the scenes they see on television of children being killed from bombardments, bombings, starvation through a man-made famine and so forth. One of the most effective things we have done is our support of UNRWA, which is under great threat. The Israeli Government has sought to undermine UNRWA not just because of its humanitarian role but more fundamentally because it is connected to the right to return of Palestinian refugees. We have resisted that very strongly. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, has acknowledged that. We have asked people not to pause the funding. Everyone we have talked to privately in the US or anywhere acknowledges that without UNRWA we would not be able to assist effectively and comprehensively the people of Gaza, either now or in the context of a reconstruction of Gaza which will have to happen after this terrible war ends.

No one is using Shannon Airport for any weaponry to go into Gaza or Israel. There are very clear provisions on Irish sovereign airspace and the use of Irish airports, including the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952 in respect of military aircraft and also in terms of civilian aircraft. There are clear, stringent and robust conditions attached to any overflights.

On the last point, Shannonwatch has reported a huge increase since October in the number of US military flights stopping over in Shannon. That means something. I do not know where the Tánaiste gets that level of confidence that there is no military use of the aircraft that are stopping in Shannon because we do not inspect them. We do not get on board and inspect the cargo, see who the passengers are or find out what their intentions are. If you cannot do that at the very least, God help us and God help Gaza because you are literally not doing anything.

The Tánaiste has said we will recognise the Palestinian state but will not take serious sanctions against Israel as we did against South Africa when it was an apartheid state and its tyranny was recognised throughout the world. We took serious sanctions against South Africa and that helped to bring that regime down. If you want to end the apartheid nature of the Israeli state and brutal genocidal nature of the Israeli state then you have to take action. Words are no use. I completely agree with the rapporteur whom the Tánaiste wrote to on that issue.

However, the Government needs to address the question of US military coming through Shannon. There will be a protest there on Sunday and there will be more protests as this Middle East conflict escalates. As Shannon is used increasingly by the US military, our neutrality is being increasingly compromised.

The Tánaiste has not addressed the question I asked him about the Bill to ditch the triple lock, and I need that addressed, please. He also needs to address properly the question of Shannon. Those planes are not being inspected.

I will deal with the triple lock. First, in 2023 and to date in 2024, no applications have been received or exemptions granted to permit the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft flying to a point in Israel. Second, no airport in Ireland or Irish sovereign airspace is being used to transport weapons to the conflict in the Middle East or any other war. People should stop trying to muddy the waters in that respect, which is what is going on.

It would be grand if the planes were inspected. We might believe the Tánaiste.

It is an absurdity for the Deputy to suggest that any amendment to the triple lock is about ditching neutrality or aligning with any other member state. It is not.

That is what everyone is saying except the Tánaiste.

The Deputy rarely condemns Russia or Iran in here.

This is ridiculous; we are talking about a genocide happening in Gaza.

Deputy Smith-----

I try to be balanced and look at things in a balanced way. It is extraordinary and interesting that the malign influence of Iran in the Middle East barely gets referenced in this House. Iran has meddled, has manipulated and has been a huge issue in respect of the escalation of violence in that environment.

And the Tánaiste keeps slipping away from the crucial question I am asking him.

I am answering the Deputy's question. I do not believe Russia should have a veto on whether Irish Defence Forces become engaged in international peacekeeping anymore. That is the bottom line as far as I am concerned. We are depending on a rogue state on the Security Council that can veto any peacekeeping proposal from the United Nations. I am unequivocal about it. It is not about ditching neutrality; it is the idea that Russia can veto Irish troops being involved in any peacekeeping initiative. We need to wake up a small bit and accept that is the reality.

What about the behaviour of the US as a state? What about the ironclad guarantee to Israel? Is that okay?

Deputy Smith-----

I respectfully say to the Deputy that we should be able to debate these things without making assertions about what we are doing.

An ironclad guarantee is not an assertion.

We are not ditching military neutrality. We support military neutrality in Ireland and we are not going to change it in any shape or form. We have said that consistently and that remains the position. Amending the triple lock does not amount in any shape or form to undermining our policy on military neutrality.

In many shapes and forms it undermines our policy. Let us be honest about it.

Deputy, please.

It does not. It genuinely does not.