Sinn Féin MEP for Dublin, Lynn Boylan, has said that Fianna Fáil’s callous u-turn on voting in favour of Ursula von der Leyen is further proof that voters cannot trust Micheál Martin’s party.
MEP Boylan said:
“Fianna Fáil have today broken a commitment made to voters in June, voting in favour of Ursula von der Leyen and her European Commission.
“It is a timely reminder ahead of Friday’s general election that Fianna Fáil simply cannot be trusted.
“For all the weasel words from Micheál Martin about wanting peace in the Middle East, Fianna Fáil is the party of photo ops with Benjamin Netanyahu and giving Dana Erlich a hero’s welcome at their ard fheis.
“Over 45,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in the last year alone at the hands of Israel – seventy percent of whom were women and children.
“During all that time, there has not been one meaningful sanction taken against Israel by Fianna Fáil in government.
“Fianna Fáil obstructed Sinn Féin legislation that would divest Irish taxpayers’ money from Israeli companies in occupied Palestine.
“Fianna Fáil reneged on its commitment to enacting the Occupied Territories Bill.
“Fianna Fáil have turned a blind eye to Israeli weapons being flown over Irish airspace.
“They have failed to make a meaningful declaration in the ICJ Genocide case against Israel, and they have failed to use their voice in Europe to suspend the EU-Israel association agreement.
“But voting for Ursula von der Leyen and her European Commission today is their most callous betrayal.
“Ursula von der Leyen’s response to Israel’s brutality and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been a mark of shame for the European Union. That shame is today shared by Fianna Fáil.
“Friday, when voters go to the polls, marks the United Nations ‘International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People’.
“The vast majority of Irish people are steadfast in their opposition to Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people.
“So, when the public casts their votes in two days’ time, I urge them to remember Micheál Martin’s words and compare them with his party’s actions.
“Voters have a choice to make. Five more years of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil or a new government led by Sinn Féin that will stand up for them, and stand on the side of Palestine.”
