I agree with the previous speaker. There is no legal, moral or justifiable reason for failing to enact the occupied territories Bill. It is a basic first step of compliance with international law. I am very proud to be a co-sponsor of the Bill, which was introduced by my CEG colleague, Senator Frances Black. The delays are damning. The arms embargo Bill is another Bill that should be enacted. It was brought forward last spring by the CEG group and we were assured by Government that we had nothing to worry about and that there was nothing to see in the context of arms passing through Ireland because the Government chose not to inspect or check if there is anything to see. Others have checked and now we know there are arms. We discussed the appalling death we have seen in Lebanon and Gaza. We cannot know but there is every chance that the weapons that killed those women, children and all those people, may have passed through Ireland with silent complicity and the turning of a blind eye. There has been a failure to use the existing powers to start inspecting aeroplanes and an intentional blocking of the arms embargo Bill in the same way the Government has blocked the occupied territories Bill for six years.

We also should not have any deniability in some of the provisions being guillotined today in respect of the Planning and Development Bill. A brave individual former TD who was a Fine Gael backbencher, Tony McLoughlin, brought forward legislation to ban fracking. Everyone spoke about how terrible and awful fracking is, which it is. However, the same parties will now push through legislation to facilitate fracking around the world, with Ireland acting as a hub for liquefied natural gas. This is a priority development, which will bypass local authorities and go straight to the commission. This is not just about the storage or importation by the way; it will include the liquefying and all the filthy processes that not just damage our limited space in terms of climate emissions, but also the local environments in which these actions take place. That is in the Bill that is being guillotined. The sections dealing with that in that Bill are intentionally not being debated.

Alongside this, and possibly even worse, many provisions in the Bill completely trample on the Aarhus Convention. When we say that, it sounds like it is an EU convention and it will be clear. This convention concerns the public and the public's right to participate. It is about the public's right to justice. I am proposing an amendment to the Order of Business to state that the discussion on that Planning and Development Bill should be adjourned-----

Sorry, the Senator is making a proposal?

I am proposing an amendment to the Order of Business that the Planning and Development Bill be adjourned to allow proper debate on these issues rather than be concluded.

Thank you.

Again, I would say this is disrespect to the public.

The Senator's time is up.

When Members stand up and complain about local issues and the things they do not like, such as badly built apartments and electric pylons, they are trampling on the rights of the public to have a say on all these issues if this Bill is guillotined.

Senator Higgins is way over time.

I do not know if Senator Higgins has someone planned to second that proposal, but I am happy to do so. I also want to speak about Palestine in the context of the question that kept being repeated to me throughout this summer, which is, "How can the world allow this to continue to happen?" The truthful answer is that it is allowed to continue because politicians from across the globe refuse to speak truth to power.

Hear, hear.

Unfortunately, we had a prime example of that yesterday when the Taoiseach was in New York attending a meeting of the United Nations. When asked about his views on the US supply of arms to Israel, he said that he would not interfere in another country's foreign policy and, "I wouldn't appreciate another country telling us our foreign policy or telling us how to proceed."

That is absolute nonsense. He is at the United Nations. That is the forum where people are supposed to say to other countries that we disagree with this policy and we think you should do this instead. All of us in this room know that the genocide that continues to unfold day after day is only possible because of the US supply of arms. Billions of arms are supplied each year and it continues on. We have a Taoiseach who had a prime opportunity to call that out yesterday and instead he ducked it. He ducked the issue. That is simply not good enough; frankly, it is shameful.

I would hope that almost everyone in this Chamber is at one now. I am encouraged by Senator Martin's comments that we should pass the occupied territories Bill. The Leader has made several good statements in the past regarding this issue. Why do we not as a Seanad make a joint and united call on the Government to pass the occupied territories Bill without further delay?

Hear, hear.

We can do this. We can do it in a week or two weeks and get it done. We can send a signal to the world. There are no legal impediments. Indeed, the Belgian Government has already passed its version of the occupied territories Bill. It is the least we can do. Otherwise, we will be guilty, alongside all of the other politicians across the world, of not taking concrete actions because words are simply not enough.

One other issue that has been alluded to by Senator Higgins is we must confront what is happening in Shannon Airport. There have been 11 direct military flights from Shannon to Israel. There were 85 flights to the Middle East between October and July alone, supplying support to Israel for its genocide. We have to call this out. I have been consistent throughout my eight years in the Seanad in calling for an end to US military use of Shannon. I have not been alone. Senator Martin Conway has supported the call as well as Senator Alice-Mary Higgins and others on this side. One cannot condemn genocide and then turn a blind eye to actions involving our Government to support that genocide. Let us work collectively as one and support the occupied territories Bill. I specifically call on the Leader, in her response, to make that call today and stand up for justice in the world.

Hear, hear.