I have both statements and questions. To start with, I just spoke to Councillor Ger Curley who is an Independent councillor. The worries and concerns of the people of Cobh are for Paddy O'Donovan and the other Irish citizens who have been detained. There are serious concerns in Cobh in regard to Paddy O'Donovan, including among his family. I hope that we convey those concerns to the relevant people. On Tuesday, during my contributions in the Dáil on the flotilla, I stated that all of us in the Independent Ireland party publicly support the humanitarian nature of the global Sumud Flotilla. All of us in the Independent Ireland party call for safe and unhindered passage for all humanitarian aid vessels. All of us in the Independent Ireland party reaffirm Ireland's unwavering commitment to international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians in conflict zones. Yesterday evening Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked: where is world order, where is respect and where are people coming together for peace?

I want to speak plainly about the developments around the global flotilla. Overnight, we saw, not just manoeuvres at sea, but manoeuvrers that carry a terrible human cost. While ships are blocked, men, women and children are going hungry. Ireland knows that pain. We carry it from our history in our bones from the time of the Great Irish Famine. Ships laden with food passed our shores while our people starved on the roadsides. That memory is not just history. It is a warning. When we see supplies prevented from reaching starving people when international law is cast aside in the name of power, we have a duty to speak not just for ourselves but for those who have no voice.

I accept that diplomacy is complex. I accept that nations act in their own interests. However, there comes a point when humanitarian needs must be placed above politics, strategy and every other consideration. Children cannot eat words. They need food. Ireland, of all countries, should not stand silently by. We must insist that humanitarian supplies are allowed safe passage and that the flotilla is not turned into a weapon of starvation. It is not enough to make statements of concern. We must raise our voice at the highest levels, in Brussels, in the UN and in every forum on which we sit. If food is being blocked, it is not only immoral but is a breach of international law that cannot be tolerated.

I appeal to the Tánaiste to remember our own history. He should remember our own Famine and make sure Ireland is not complicit in silence. Let us be the voice that says clearly: never again should food be blocked while people starve.

If the flotilla means anything, it should mean hope and relief, not hunger and not despair. Ireland must use its place to make that clear. I for one will continue to call for it. Will the Tánaiste confirm whether our supplies that are bound for starving civilians have been delayed or obstructed by the interception of the flotilla and what steps Ireland as a neutral country has taken to demand the detainees' immediate release?

I know that Deputy Collins is one of the people who suggested, with Independent Ireland, that we should have a debate on the all-party flotilla motion this week. It proved to be very constructive in being able to tease through some of the issues. That was raised at the Business Committee.

I agree with the Deputy in relation to famine. There is something in our DNA and in our gut in this country. Through our history of an Gorta Mór we know what that is like. It is in the DNA of the people in this country and that is why we feel particularly repulsed in Ireland when we see famine conditions. It is now not just our words, the Deputy's words or my words. It is now an international finding of fact that there is famine in Gaza. The most disgusting and despicable thing is that the famine is happening when, as the Deputy alluded to, there is food nearby. I heard from a UN agency last week that children are having amputations without anaesthetics. It is hard to say that, let alone think about it. There are amputations without anaesthesics because Israel will not let the medicines and anaesthetics into Gaza. Mary Robinson, our former President, told me at the UN last week that she had visited the Rafah crossing and seen warehouse loads of food, a lot of it funded by the Irish taxpayer and other European taxpayers, and the only reason it cannot get in is Netanyahu.

Yes, we will not stand idly by and we have used our voice at the UN and the EU. We have also invested in the UNRWA and the World Food Programme with additional funding. They are getting trickles, nowhere near enough, with that additional funding to try to get food into a starving people. While the flotilla had a relatively small amount of aid, and I do not say that to be flippant, the symbolism of trying to get aid in and showing the blockade is hugely important and I believe it is something that people right across this country support.

As I said, given our own experience in the Famine, where food was exported while our people starved, does the Tánaiste agree that Ireland carries a special moral duty to stand against the use of hunger as a weapon?

Yes, I do. It is one of the reasons Ireland has tried to be proactive on the issue of the genocide in Palestine. There is always more that can be done. I accept that. The international community in general has been far too slow and far too negligent. That would be the view in this House. I take the point that there is more we can do and I engage in that constructively. It is the reason Ireland moved ahead and recognised the State of Palestine a year ahead of many other European countries, which did it last week. It is the reason we have provided additional funding to UNRWA and the World Food Programme. It is the reason we have been leading the call for the review of the Israel-EU association agreement. It is the reason we are looking for an early European meeting to go through those sanctions. We will continue those actions in the hours and days ahead.

In my final 20 seconds, I will ask the remainder of my questions together and see how I get on. What concrete actions will Ireland as a neutral country take at the UN and in the EU, and bilaterally, to insist on safe passage for humanitarian supplies and to hold to account those responsible for the blockage? Will the Tánaiste assure the House that Ireland as a neutral country will not be silent or complicit but will use diplomatic channels available to ensure that the starving population receives the supplies it desperately needs? In reality, what can we as a neutral country do to help the people of Gaza and to help to end this devastating war?

I absolutely assure the Deputy that we will do that. We will work with our European counterparts, as I said in the statement issued by Ireland and 14 other countries, to see what options are available internationally in seeking accountability in relation to this flotilla.