Matt Carthy
Question:72. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the proposed timeframe to honour the Government commitment to recognise the state of Palestine. [46477/21]
View answerThursday, 30 September 2021
Questions (72)
Written answers
The Programme for Government states that the Government will “Honour our commitment to recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or in advance of that, when we believe doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-State solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory”.
As I set out in my reply to the Deputy’s question on this issue in May, I have been clear that, in the absence of progress towards a two-State solution, I would be prepared to recommend to the Government early recognition by Ireland of a State of Palestine, if and when it might be helpful.
Recognition by Ireland outside the context of an overall peace agreement would, however, be likely to affect Ireland’s influence on the Israel-Palestine conflict at EU and international level. Timing and context would affect whether such a loss of influence would be matched by a commensurate benefit for the Palestinian people and a positive impact on the peace process and a two-State solution.