Tánaiste’s Statement on the Flotilla in Dáil Éireann

I want to thank all members across this house for facilitating a debate on the very concerning developments in relation to the Global Sumud Flotilla.

I know that everyone’s overriding concern is for the safety and welfare of our Irish citizens who are on a mission of solidarity with the people of Palestine.

This House, this Oireachtas, and our people are united in this same solidarity and are united today in our urgent wish that no harm should come to those who boarded the Sumud Flotilla, to those still in transit, to all who have set out on a mission to bring humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Firstly, I want to inform the House of the latest developments.

This morning, I convened and chaired a special consular coordination group within my department which includes our Consular Director, the Head of Crisis Planning, Assistant Secretary General for Citizens Services and the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to respond in real time to the fast-evolving situation off the coast of Gaza.

The coordination group was joined by video link from our Ambassador in Tel Aviv who updated the group in relation to the current status of Irish citizens who have been detained.

We have confirmation that at least fourteen of our own citizens are among those intercepted and detained. There may be two other citizens whose presence is still being verified.

Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv has formally requested consular access to those Irish citizens detained. I was informed on the call this morning that there are no reports of any injuries amongst Irish citizens.

I also wish to inform the house that my department has now established a dedicated point of contact for families of those detained and on the flotilla in addition to the contact point.

Our Embassy in Tel Aviv is well resourced to support our citizens. Our Consular team in Dublin is also supporting our efforts on the ground in Israel.

This morning, I have instructed my officials to contact the non-resident Israeli Ambassador to Ireland to register our strong condemnation of the actions of the Israeli authorities and to highlight our absolute expectation that the welfare of our citizens is protected in line with international law.

I have also requested urgent calls with the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas and shortly before coming into the house I spoke to my Spanish counterpart on how we take a coordinated EU approach and uphold international law.

As you know, Ireland signed a joint statement that recalls that any violation of international law and human rights of the participants in the Flotilla, including attacks against the vessels in international waters or illegal detention, will lead to accountability.

This is our position, and it still stands. International law matters must be upheld and I will consider with counterparts how best to advance this.

We will assess what options are available to us with other EU counterparts to uphold international law and hold Israel to account. I will keep the House updated on these next steps.

However, colleagues will understand in the first instance my absolute priority and that of the Government must be to ensure the welfare of our citizens.

Officials from across my Department, including those in Embassy Tel Aviv, are actively engaged with the situation and are providing consular assistance to those affected.

What we have been informed is likely to happen now is that all detainees will be transferred to Ashdod port for processing, and from there to a detention facility south of Tel Aviv, where they will have to access to medical teams. We expect this to take most of the day.

It is my understanding that those who have been detained will be given the option to leave immediately and if not they will have a hearing within 72 hours.

However given the religious holiday of Yom Kippur, we expect processing time to be impacted.

Department officials are also in direct and ongoing contact with a designated point of contact for the Flotilla.

Let me be clear, these are Irish men and women who sought to deliver aid, who acted on conscience, and who now find themselves in uncertain and potentially dangerous circumstances.

The inhumanity of a blockade that starves a people of hope and aid, and the inhumanity of seeing peaceful activists detained while simply seeking to relieve suffering.

Government remains deeply and continuously engaged on this issue, working tirelessly to safeguard the welfare of our citizens.

We remain in constant contact with our consular team on the ground.

They are working to establish the precise whereabouts of every Irish citizen, to ensure their safety and dignity, and to secure their swift release. Our ambassador and officials in Tel Aviv have been active from the first reports of interception, making clear Ireland’s expectation that our citizens be treated fully in line with international law.

I want to assure families and friends who are following events with understandable anxiety: you are not alone.

The resources of the State — the Department of Foreign Affairs, our diplomatic network and our European partners — are being brought to bear on this issue.

We are using every channel available to us.

It is in times like these that the value of maintaining diplomatic relations, even when it may seem to cut against the grain of justice, is most clearly seen.

We will speak directly and persistently to those who hold our citizens; we press our case in European and international forums; we remind all parties that Ireland will never be silent when the safety of our people is at stake. We cannot be silent when humanity itself is at stake.

We will continue to insist — calmly, firmly and without equivocation — that those detained be released without harm, that humanitarian principles be upheld, and that the right to bring aid to desperate civilians not be criminalised.

Our solidarity today must also extend to the people of Gaza and the horrific manmade famine and genocide that has been taking place there.

Ireland has long championed the principles of peace, of justice, and of international law. We will persist in calling for a massive and sustained flow of humanitarian aid, for an end to collective punishment, and for the protection of civilians everywhere.

Our first priority at this moment is clear and immediate: to safeguard the lives and welfare of our citizens. That is what we are doing hour by hour, call by call, action by action.

I know this House, and the Irish people, stand united in that effort — united in compassion, united in determination, and united in hope that soon we will welcome our fellow citizens safely home.

Go raibh maith agaibh.