Does the Tánaiste agree that there is a time to take a stand on sport and that the Ireland versus Israel soccer fixture is exactly that time? We should have a boycott supported by the State and the entire population. We should not be complicit in normalising a team that is integrally connected to a genocide, racism against Palestinians and the oppression of the Palestinian people.

Ireland has been in this situation before, going back to the 1980s, apartheid and the IRFU. At that time, Charlie Haughey called in the IRFU and told it that it would be incompatible with the State's interest to participate. I never thought I would be holding Charlie Haughey up as an example. John Robbie, a former rugby player has said:

I used to think: did I actually know how bad apartheid was? Of course, I did. I should never have toured. ... I consider it a stain that will never leave me.

This will be a stain on Irish soccer and on the young players whom the Taoiseach and, it seems, the Tánaiste are encouraging to participate in this.

Does the Tánaiste think the Israeli soccer team is a normal team? Some 1,007 athletes have been killed since the genocide began. Of the 421 footballers who have been killed, nearly half have been children. A total of 288 soccer facilities have been destroyed. In December, just a month or so ago, a football pitch at the Aida refugee camp in the West Bank was ordered to be demolished by the IDF. Six Israeli teams currently play in occupied Palestinian territory in direct contravention of UEFA and FIFA's own rules, although UEFA and FIFA do nothing about it, and three of the biggest teams in Israeli football, Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel, have horrendous histories of racism towards Arabs and Palestinians. A lot of the players who play on the Israeli team are involved in these clubs. A popular chant from Maccabi supporters goes "Let the IDF win and F-U-C-K the Arabs". "Why is school out in Gaza? There are no children left there." is a chant from one of the soccer teams. Those chants ended in riots when Maccabi travelled to Amsterdam. In its 100-year history, Beitar, the team supported by Netanyahu, has never allowed an Arab to play. Racism is very normalised.

I will also mention the Israeli women's football team, which made a disgusting propaganda video in 2024 in which players swapped their Israeli jerseys for IDF uniforms. Shon Weissman, who has played for the team, has said that Gaza should be wiped off the map. Manor Solomon has defended the genocide. The children's teams are separated by apartheid by the Israeli football league. Does the Tánaiste think any of that is normal? Does he think that our players should be forced into a situation where they must be play against a team that is integrally involved with oppressing Palestinians?

I do not agree with the Deputy's view in relation to the football game. Our position in relation to Gaza, the genocidal activity there and the horrors the people of Palestine have experienced is very clear, as are the views of the Irish Government and the people of Ireland in relation to the horrific terrorist organisation that is Hamas and the terrorist attack it carried out. We continue to take active steps almost every day to try to assist in practical ways. My colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence, was at the Rafah crossing in recent weeks, where she announced on our behalf a significant increase in funding. That is an example of a direct action we can take. We have recognised the State of Palestine, stood by UNRWA and increased our support for it. We hosted a conference on the two-state solution in Dublin Castle only last month. We continue to work for a two-state solution. We continue to recognise the Palestinian State and support the Palestinian people in their legitimate aspiration to have their own state.

However, when it comes to sport, we also have to think this through logically. The FAI, the governing body of Irish soccer, took a view as to what should happen in relation to Israel's participation. It canvassed and conveyed that view, as is its right. I do not run sporting organisations. UEFA decided not to take that view on board. The tournament is going ahead. If Ireland pulls out, what does that achieve other than to damage Irish soccer and participation in sport? While I am not suggesting the Deputy has done this, I do not like what I am seeing happening now, which is that pressure is being applied to individual players. They are being asked whether they are going to play and told they should not. We should be supporting the men who are putting on the green jersey and who represent our country with distinction. They have a couple of crucial games coming up in relation to the World Cup. We have to go back to our childhood, or I certainly do, to remember when we were last this close to having that opportunity. Sport is sport.

I never expected Deputy Coppinger to reference Charles Haughey in an admirable light but she has. However, I believe this is a separate and distinct issue. I really do know that this is a challenging issue for many people. I know the depth of feeling in this country. I share that depth of feeling but this is about the Irish soccer team. I want the boys in green to put on the jersey and win. I want them to win the game. I want to support the soccer team. I do not want to apply pressure to the team or to individual players. I reckon there are many people, including people in grassroots community organisations such as soccer academies in the Deputy's own community, who also want to see the team play. If we pull out, we will feel better for five minutes but who actually suffers? It is not the Israeli football team. It is Irish soccer. It is not a wise thing to do.

If we boycott this game, it could lead to a domino effect where other teams would also boycott.

It will not.

It is not just about being a sacrificial lamb. Russia was not kicked out of FIFA because FIFA had a moral backbone; it was because a number of teams refused to play. We could be giving a lead. By the way, this is not the World Cup, as the Tánaiste well knows. It is an inconsequential tournament.

That is your view.

It is not the World Cup play-offs or anything like that.

I want to send solidarity to Joanna Byrne, the first woman chairperson of the League of Ireland. She has been asked to resign because Drogheda United, which happens to be owned by a US multinational, does not agree with her stance that this match should not go ahead. Last year at an AGM, 93% of FAI elected representatives took a decision about Israel and that they should be pulled out. The Tánaiste seems to think it is okay to state something but not to back it up with any action. Of course, the natural thing to do after such a vote is to follow it up with your principles that you will not play against Israel and then to put pressure on UEFA and FIFA, rather than putting pressure on individual players. By the Taoiseach's statement during the week, he put the pressure on the players to go ahead, and so, I feel, is the Tánaiste.

No. We are supporting the decision taken by the FAI to participate in the competition. We have enough to be doing running the country without running sports organisations as well. I do not run the FAI. I think it is a bit sneery of the Deputy to call it an inconsequential tournament. It might be inconsequential to her, but I do not think we should suggest to the soccer players that it is inconsequential. It is not for the Deputy to attach that value to this.

Compared with a genocide, it is.

The Deputy would not like people suggesting her participation here is inconsequential. Soccer players and young boys and girls across the country who play sport want to see our soccer team do well. They want to see our soccer team participate. I think we can and should differentiate in relation to this. I do not think we should apply this pressure to individual soccer players or our national soccer team in relation to a decision they should take. I gave up soccer when I was about nine years of age because I was appalling at it. I took up politics and I intend to stick to politics and allow the soccer players to stick to soccer.