EU's response to war on Gaza is 'despicable', says Holly Cairns

Bringing a motion to the Dáil calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said that EU leaders were 'cowards'

Holly Cairns: 'The official EU position is now that we want a pause in the bombing for a few hours – and then the ethnic cleansing can continue.'

The EU's response to the war in Gaza is "despicable" and its leaders "cowards", the Social Democrats leader has told the Dáil.

Bringing a motion to the Dáil calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, Holly Cairns said that EU leaders were "cowards".

She said that she is normally a supporter of the EU but "as recently as Sunday, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs released a statement which could only call for a humanitarian pause of the slaughter – and contained no criticism of Israel for its savagery".

"The official EU position is now that we want a pause in the bombing for a few hours – and then the ethnic cleansing can continue.

"I reject this statement. The EU leaders who wrote it are cowards and their position is indefensible. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs, in his statement, also urged Israel to exercise maximum restraint.

Does he watch the news? Does he know what is going on?

Ms Cairns said that the international community must act quickly.

"Ireland has long been proud of our reputation as a voice for peace on the international stage, as a country who values human rights and international law, and advocates for nations and people who face oppression. 

"Ireland has not been found wanting when it comes to words of support for the Palestinian people, but in the face of an impending genocide, words are not enough, we must take action now. Before it is too late."

Social Democrats make 'no apologies for motion

Her party colleague Gary Gannon told the Dáil that the language around human pauses in the fighting was "inhumane".

He said that the party "makes no apologies" for the motion because they "stand for consequences".

Cian O'Callaghan, the party's TD for Dublin Bay North, condemned the rise in antisemitism and islamophobia in the wake of the violence in Gaza.

Speaking for the Government, junior justice minister James Browne said that Ireland has "called clearly" on all sides to abide by international law.

He said that he believed the Social Democrats motion was a representation of concerns across the Dáil but said expelling Israeli ambassador Dana Erlich would push Ireland to the "edges of the international community".

Mr Browne said that referring the case to the International Criminal Court would not achieve anything because an investigation is ongoing and that the Government was concerned about appearing to politicise the court.

He said the situation was "fundamentally different" to that in Ukraine because in that case, Ukraine was not signed up to the court. He said that the Government's countermotion was "firmly in line with international law" and was pushing to get all sides back to the negotiating table.