European Council
Dail Éireann — 2024-07-10
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Peadar Tóibín (AON), Meath West

I add my voice in condemnation of the Israeli military killings in the Gaza Strip in recent days, most especially the bombing of people sheltering in a school in the Gaza Strip. I wish to highlight the incredible hypocrisy of the western world. NATO can point the finger at one country for an atrocity but finds it unable to point the finger at another country for equal if not worse atrocities at the same time. That hypocrisy does not just exist on the world stage. There is hypocrisy here in this Chamber too because we have a Government that has condemned Ursula von der Leyen for her ability to distort Irish foreign policy over the length of the Israel-Gaza war but is still seeking our support for Ursula von der Leyen in her efforts to become the Commission President.
Rather than Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael being movements for ideology or policy, it seems to me that they are movements for jobs. In other words, these are strategic manoeuvres that the parties are involved in so their man, in this case the former Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, can get the job he wants within the European Commission. It is just amazing that Fianna Fáil occupied both the position of being in opposition to Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament while also being supportive of her in the Government.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2024-07-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:53:11+00:00
Sitting date: 2024-07-10