Good morning,
Tuesday saw a significant shift in the stance of the international community towards Israel amid warnings from the UN that 14,000 babies faced the immediate prospect of starvation due to its blockade of Gaza. Given the backdrop, the Government here is unlikely to take much satisfaction from it, but it has triggered a major shift from many European nations brings them closer to the Irish position, shared with Spain since early 2024.
As Jack Power reports in our lead story, 17 EU countries have now rowed in behind the position first articulated by Dublin and Madrid - that an EU-Israel trade association should be reviewed in light of Israel’s actions in Gaza, with particular reference to human rights clauses it contains.
When he was Taoiseach, Tánaiste Simon Harris had reiterated that call and in recent weeks embarked on a round of diplomatic calls in the wake of a call from the Dutch government to review the agreement. Ireland suggested, in contacts with the Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares on May 11th, that a coalition of like-minded countries write to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas repeating the earlier call. A letter was dispatched on Monday, signed by Harris and his Dutch, Luxembourgish and Slovenian counterparts. The UK also suspended trade talks with Israel in light of the dramatically deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
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However, close to home, the pressure on the government to go further and to do more seems unlikely to let up. Labour is demanding that the coalition put a date on the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill - something that looks highly unlikely, with the current plan to begin pre-legislative scrutiny before the summer break. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin will today introduce legislation restricting the sale of Israeli bonds through the Irish Central Bank.
For as long as the bombardment continues, its impact on Irish politics looks set to be sustained. There is more on the situation in Gaza in our foreign pages:
Air strikes kill dozens in Gaza as international criticism of Israel grows
Israel’s Gaza aid plan could lead to ‘war crime’, UN agency chief says
Russian links
Elsewhere on the front page, Crime and Security Correspondent Conor Gallagher explores the links between lawyers in Ireland and Vladimir Putin’s soft-power agency. Read his investigation here.
Norman People
Among the least expected interventions this week has to be a statement from Sinn Féin issued on Tuesday evening. The government’s intention to participate in the “Year of the Normans” seemed a bit off-beat when it was teed up for cabinet on Tuesday, but we weren’t expecting a missive from Aengus Ó Snodaigh admonishing Fianna Fáil’s plan to “celebrate the birth of England’s William the Conqueror”.
“What will they think of next: A festival of Cromwell? A Famine Queen Jubilee,” wondered the Dublin South Central TD, bemoaning the fact that “little more than a whimper” marked the 1500th anniversary of St Colmcill, and that the State ignored entirely the 900th anniversary of the first settlement of Galway by the legendary High Kind Toirdhealbhach Mór Ua Conchobhair.
Our resident historian Ronan McGreevy has this piece weighing up the legacy of the Normans in Ireland. Have a read and make up your own mind on what the Normans ever did for us - or to us.
Best reads
Miriam Lord writes about teenage disability rights campaigner Cara Darmody, on a day when her work dominated proceedings in the Dáil.
From London, Mark Paul reports on a sweary encounter with bailiffs at his door.
John McManus argues in our business pages that rapidly climbing rents mean the coalition can kiss goodbye to plans to scrap rent caps.
Kathy Sheridan on skorts and Kim Kardashian.
Playbook
Topical Issues opens the Dáil proceedings for the day at 9am, followed by a motion on funding carers, home support and the fair deal scheme from the Independent Technical Group at 10am.
Leaders Questions at 12pm, followed by Other Members’ Questions and Questions on Policy or Legislation takes us up to lunchtime.
In the afternoon, Government Business is given over to statements on Gaza and to mark biodiversity week. The weekly voting block is in the evening.
Commencement Matters in the Seanad is at 10.30am, followed by the Order of Business. In the afternoon, a motion reducing the amount payable under the Ukrainian Accommodation Recognition Payment will be taken. In opposition time a the second stage of a bill prohibting discrimination on the basis of a person’s socio-economic background from Sinn Féin will take place.
Find the full Seanad schedule here.
In the committee rooms, the infrastructure committee will examine steps involved from concept to commissioning of large-scale capital projects. It will be hearing from the top brass in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, including secretary general David Moloney.
Full details of Wednesday’s committee meetings can be found here.
Off campus, Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy will give the keynote address at the 6th National Integration Conference.
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