Air Navigation and Transport (Arms Embargo) Bill 2024 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-22
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Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I wanted to come in again to make a few more points on this. First, I want to break this down.
We have weapons passing through Ireland’s airspace going into areas where there are illegal wars, war crimes and genocide happening. We are not doing everything in our power to stop that. That is what it breaks down to. We are not doing everything in our power to stop that. We have the power to carry out inspections, which are not happening. This needs to happen. As Senator Higgins said, this is about broadening it out. It is obviously not just about Palestine. It is about any part of the globe where illegal war crimes are happening, including in Lebanon.
Consider if this were happening on land. Imagine if people were walking through Ireland now carrying these weapons and trying to get to the other side to deliver them. Does the Minister of State honestly think that the Irish people would not stand in the way and prevent that if they could? Absolutely. As the Minister of State knows, every Saturday in Cork people walk and march for the people of Palestine. The Irish public are completely behind this. The Government often says to the Opposition that we are not providing solutions but all I ever hear from us here in opposition is practical solutions. I want to be proud of our Government. I want to be proud that Ireland played a leadership role in relation to this. Look at Pedro Sánchez in Spain. It is incredible to see what you can do with moral and courageous leadership and taking a stance. I would like to see more of that in Ireland. This is a very practical and simple Bill, as are the amendments. I encourage everybody to vote in support of this.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-22