The people of Ireland, almost in our entirety, are shocked at what is ongoing in the Middle East. Ireland has been very much in the vanguard when it comes to pressing the case for Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. No country of our size has done more. We have dragged many of the larger European countries to the table and emphasised at European level, national level and at every opportunity that what is taking place in the Middle East is nothing short of wanton destruction and genocide. However, we are dealing with a nation that does not understand a proportional or rational response to any situation. The Israelis are simply not going to react rationally to any situation. We continue to do as we have consistently done since the 1970s. Fianna Fáil was to the fore as far back as then in acknowledging what was happening in the Middle East.

I echo the sentiments of colleagues for Senator Chris Andrews. As I understand it, nine Irish nationals have possibly been detained. One such member of the flotilla is Naoise Dolan, who is connected to my county of Longford through her grandparents. We are obviously concerned for all of those people and send them our best wishes. I will be impressing upon the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach to do everything possible to get the people who are detained released.

However, I take issue with one point. Last night, Sinn Féin released a video of Chris Andrews that was clearly recorded before he left. In that video, he claimed he had been kidnapped. Chris Andrews-----

As did others.

One speaker at a time.

I remind Sinn Féin of the impact that kidnapping has had on this country, in the main perpetrated by-----

These are cheap shots during a genocide. Cheap shots.

-----Senator Ryan's party. Tiede Herrema was not given the opportunity to record a video before he was kidnapped. Jean McConville was not given-----

A Leas-Chathaoirligh-----

-----an opportunity to record a video before she was kidnapped.

Please, a Leas-Chathaoirligh.

Ben Dunne was not given an opportunity. Don Tidey was not given an opportunity. Paddy Kelly, an Army private-----

Go raibh maith agat.

-----and Gary Sheehan, the Garda probationer, who were on duty that day in Ballinamore were not given an opportunity to record a video before they were shot dead by the IRA.

He is saying this during a genocide.

Thomas Niedermayer was not given an opportunity-----

Go raibh maith agat, a Sheanadóir.

-----to record a video either.

These are absolute cheap shots. This is about genocide.

I have absolute solidarity for Senator Andrews but it is not kidnapping.

This is embarrassing.

Tell Sinn Féin’s press office it is not kidnapping.

It is very much a kidnapping. The activists are in international waters. They have been taken from international waters.

And detained, not kidnapped.

Kidnapped-----

They are detained.

If somebody came in here and kidnapped me from the Chamber with no charges or without me committing any crime, that would be kidnapping.

They are detained.

They have been kidnapped in international waters. Israel does not own international waters and the Senator has just used a genocide in Gaza to make political points. Shame on him.