Pico Lopes put it clearest when he arrived back in Ireland from the World Cup: "Some things are bigger than football ... The game for me has to be stopped. It shouldn't be played". Tonight, delegates at an FAI extraordinary general meeting will vote on whether Ireland should play Israel. I hope the delegates do the right thing, which is to say that a state like Israel, which is engaged in genocide and apartheid, should be isolated, not played. Will the Taoiseach assure the delegates that if they do the right thing by not playing the game, the Government will step in to ensure there is no loss to Irish football as a result?

How can we do that?

There should be no rhetorical questions.

The Government cannot affect the seedings that will result from doing that.

What about-----

Deputy Murphy, the Taoiseach's question is rhetorical.

We see what is happening at FIFA at the moment. Do we think FIFA would really concern itself too much if the Irish football team pulls out and damages its own prospects for the future? I think the world would carry on, unfortunately. I think FIFA would carry on, unfortunately. The Government is doing a lot in respect of this issue. Our view is that we should deal with it from a governmental level and at a political level and not have to ask everybody to carry-----

Thank you, Taoiseach. The next speaker is Deputy Brennan.

In my view, the implications for Irish football are serious, given the wider governance of football globally. That is enough said.