The below letter was delivered to the Department of the Taoiseach on Wednesday, 25 June.
Dear Taoiseach,
We support concerns expressed by our fellow medical professional organisations, the IMO and RCPI, over the continued devastating situation in Gaza, where the healthcare system is now collapsing daily due to the ongoing dire situation.
This intentional humanitarian catastrophe is beyond comprehension, endurance and resilience. We continue to witness our fellow human beings, people of all ages, civilians and healthcare workers, being killed, dying or severely injured or incapacitated due to starvation and to lack of adequate and appropriate aid, either through destruction of healthcare facilities or maimed or killed healthcare workers.
Our College continues to be deeply concerned and appalled at the devastation inflicted on all, on the irreparable physical and mental injury, particularly on innocent children and other vulnerable people and the long-term consequences for them. Our medical colleagues, trying to provide intervention and support in vital but now decimated facilities, also remain uppermost in our concerns and thoughts.
The Irish Government’s increasing efforts and public voice of concern and alarm in Europe and internationally are to be commended. We reiterate and support the calls on the Government to take further meaningful action to end the deaths and suffering, to end the targeting of medical facilities, to end the restriction and blocking of aid and to uphold the importance of international action to protect civilians and medical personnel in all conflict areas.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Lorcan Martin
President