Like the Tánaiste, I acknowledge the very sad news emerging from Donabate. We all think of the little boy concerned, Daniel Aruebose. Our councillor Corina Johnston expressed this morning on the radio the great sadness and distress of the community of Donabate at the sad find.

The genocide taking place in Gaza reached intolerable levels of cruelty and carnage over the summer. More than 65,000 people have been killed and a famine has been declared. The famine review committee says 100% of the population in Gaza is now experiencing a high level of acute food insecurity. Children are dying of starvation, being orphaned and shot in the head in the streets. There are literally no words to describe the destruction of human life and infrastructure we are witnessing daily. Words fail us all when we learn of the atrocities being committed by Israel.

The findings of the UN commission of inquiry this week should be a turning point for the world. Its conclusion, that genocide is being committed in Gaza, should change things, but the advisory opinion of the ICJ last year should have changed things too, as should the constant stream of deeply horrifying reports from UNRWA, UNICEF and individual medics and journalists working in Gaza. Instead, what we have seen are indifference and indeed encouragement by the likes of Germany and the US, which have egged on Netanyahu and his brutal regime. By arming Israel, those countries are being complicit in the committing of genocide. Israel must be isolated by the international community in every global forum – culturally, in sport, in academia, and through trade in goods and services. We all agree no country is too small to make an impact. Ireland is making an impact. We have acknowledged that the Irish Government has been to the fore among European countries but we can do better. We can do more and no delay can be justified.

On Monday, I joined organisations, including the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Oxfam and Christian Aid, at the gates of Leinster House with Senator Frances Black. We are calling for the urgent implementation of the occupied territories Bill in full because new research reveals the extent to which EU trade in both goods and services with illegal Israeli settlements is directly contributing to serious breaches of international law in Palestine. Companies implicated include eDreams, TUI travel, BNP Paribas, HSBC and Barclays.

At home, an investigation by The Guardian in August revealed that Palestinian phone calls are being illegally recorded by the Israeli military. These audio files are being stored on Microsoft servers here in Ireland, in Irish data centres. One whistleblower from Microsoft told The Guardian: “Suddenly the entire public [in Palestine] was our enemy.” The scale of the illegal interception is extraordinary. We cannot stand by while Netanyahu’s brutal project is being facilitated by Irish-based infrastructure. We cannot put an FDI-shaped price on human rights.

I welcome the new approach by the European Commission this week and the proposed suspension of the Israel–EU agreement but we cannot leave our response in the hands of obstructive states like Hungary. I realise the Government has taken issue with them but we need to set an example here. Will the Tánaiste legislate to ban the trade with occupied territories in goods and services this autumn? Will he take on board the Bill Duncan Smith has proposed for Labour to protect workers who refuse to handle goods coming from the illegal Israeli settlements?

I thank Deputy Bacik. I do not know her councillor, Corina Johnston, but I heard her on “Morning Ireland” this morning. I thought she spoke for so many people and for her community on the very tragic situation. I thank her for that.

I thank the Deputy and her party for their constructive engagement. Of course, we will give consideration to Deputy Smith’s Bill. From an Irish perspective, literally around now 15 young Palestinians have been safely evacuated from Gaza. Fourteen of them are students who will be coming to study in Ireland. One is coming here on a critical-skills Visa. They are safely in Jordan, where they will be medically screened. Obviously, they are coming from a famine zone and war zone, a place where genocide is happening. They are due to arrive in Ireland tomorrow. I thank everybody who has worked so hard on this. As the Deputy can imagine, it is very complex to get people evacuated from Gaza.

The Deputy is right that we in this House, or indeed Ireland, did not need anybody else to tell us a genocide was happening in Gaza. Ireland was one of the first countries in Europe, if not the first, to call it what it is. The UN independent inquiry has now found the same thing. We have also seen statements of fact around a man-made famine in Gaza. These views are no longer just Ireland’s, mine or Deputy Bacik’s; these are views that are factually based and evidence based and that the world cannot ignore. The European Commission decision yesterday is hugely significant. As the Deputy knows from her engagements at European level, and as I know from mine, Ireland’s voice has been in the minority for quite a long time. To have had the European Commission ratify proposals yesterday that are very far-reaching and quite appropriate – and very delayed, by the way – represents a not-insignificant moment; it is actually a very important moment. In practice, this would have a very significant impact on Israel economically and, I believe, has the potential to change Netanyahu’s calculus in relation to the continuance of the genocide in Gaza.

My priority in the here and now has to be, and the Deputy would expect it to be, to try to see if we can get a majority of member states to vote for these sanctions and to do so very quickly.

The next meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, outside a UN meeting next week, is not due for approximately six weeks. It is the same with the European Council. A genocide is going on. We cannot wait a further six weeks, after all the inaction to date. I am leading a diplomatic effort to try to get a number of member states to seek an urgent meeting so that member states can vote. There is nowhere to hide here. You are either in favour or against these measures to try to help end a genocide. I hope that can happen.

At a domestic level, I spoke to Senator Black briefly the other day. I am due to meet her on my return from the UN High-level Week, which is taking place next week. We are still committed to legislating. Party leaders will shortly meet the Attorney General on how best to do that. I am happy to brief the Opposition as well. However, I have to be honest with the House and the people of Ireland about passing our own legislation. Again, I do not dismiss that and I committed to doing it, but if we want to make an impact here, acting at an EU level has always been the best way to do it because, while the political power may seem to be whatever goes on between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, the economic ability that Europe has in relation to Israel and making it change its course is highly significant.

I thank the Tánaiste for that comprehensive response. I would welcome a briefing on the occupied territories Bill - anything to move things on there. I absolutely agree with him on the need for transnational and international action, but we can and should also act unilaterally because we have a strong voice of moral authority. There are like-minded states. I know this from my engagement at EU level. Spain and Belgium are with us on this. We can and should do more on the occupied territories Bill.

It is similar on the evacuees from Palestine. I welcome that and the Tánaiste's announcement that 15 will arrive tomorrow. There were due to be 30. I have been working with him and the Minister for justice to try to ensure we see family reunification for those who have already come here from Gaza on the medevac programme. Some of them are living in my constituency and are desperately distressed as they watch their family members under daily bombardment from Israel in Gaza. We are doing all we can to try to get them out. I would welcome more effort from the Government on getting family members out to join the people already here.

I welcome the Tánaiste's push for an urgent meeting at EU level. Will he also push at UN level? The Government supported a Labour Party motion in May looking for Ireland to push this at UN level, through the General Assembly of the United Nations, to take action towards us securing a lasting ceasefire in Gaza. Will he push on that too?

Yes, we can and will take action at national level. There is a political consensus on that. We all gave commitments during the election. I am happy to do that, but the Deputy will also remember the previous Government's position was always whether we could get to a point where Europe might act. That looked very remote when this genocide started. It now looks like a distinct prospect. We have got to try to see this through. One way or the other, in a democratic Europe, we have every right to be able to vote for these proposals and to show we are voting to take this action against Israel to try to stop what Netanyahu is doing. That needs to happen and to happen quickly. The Deputy is right that we are not alone. There is a growing coalition, including Slovenia, Spain and Belgium, as she said, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. France has played a very constructive role. We may see our near neighbours in the UK take their own decision on recognition in the coming days, which would be a welcome step forward.

We remain committed to evacuations. The Minister for Health is doing very good work on this from a medical point of view. We are doing good work in terms of those looking to come here to study as well. We all know there is complexity around this, but anyone we can help in that context we are helping.

At a UN level, the Taoiseach, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and I will be in New York for UN High-level Week next week. This issue will be a major priority, as you would imagine.