The Government has condemned today's bombing in Jerusalem and called for both sides in the Middle East conflict to resume peace negotiations immediately.
"Terrorist attacks of this kind can never be justified in any circumstances" said the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
He offered condolences to the families of those killed and his "profound sympathy" for those injured in the attack.
"I am deeply perturbed that we are seeing the continuation of a cycle of attacks and counterattacks in which the sanctity of human life is completely disregarded," Mr Cowen added.
He said the recent spate of violent incidents in the Middle East show there is no military solution to the conflict, and called on the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resume dialogue immediately.