The Taoiseach has brushed aside growing calls to stop Ireland's Nations League fixture against Israel while the genocide continues against the Palestinian people. His response and that of the Government have been utterly disingenuous. Nobody is asking the Government to usurp the role of UEFA or the FAI. The Taoiseach is being asked to show leadership, support the position that this game must be stopped, protect Irish players from any repercussions, provide the political, diplomatic and financial backing necessary to make that position sustainable and protect the FAI. There is a clear precedent for this. The Irish Government supported opposition to sporting fixtures involving apartheid South Africa. The Taoiseach was in Cabinet in 1999 when the Government refused visas to the Yugoslav team ahead of the planned Ireland-Yugoslavia fixture. In neither case was the Government organising or cancelling sporting fixtures. It was, however, providing leadership, so the truth is the Taoiseach can act. I know my microphone has been switched off.

Deputy, everyone is subject to the same time constraints.

The Taoiseach can act and have influence but he chooses not to. Thank you for turning my microphone back on. I was two seconds over, was I?

You were 20 seconds over and into someone else's time, Deputy.

Thank you for turning off my microphone.

Learn the rules.

In the minute available to me, I will make the point that at one level the Deputy says that she is not asking us to usurp but she is, really. I do not understand the logic of what she is saying.

Then the Taoiseach cannot read.

We are not members of UEFA. The FAI has to navigate UEFA in the same way it has to navigate FIFA. The Irish football team has had a lot of success recently.

Do not start waffling again. I know that.

Stop with the interruptions, please.

The bottom line here is-----

The Irish Government was not the IRFU when all of you took the right stance.