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Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018

Tuesday, 30 January 2018

Ceisteanna (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Brendan Howlin

Ceist:

1. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to Lebanon and his engagements there. [54821/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Gerry Adams

Ceist:

2. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to Lebanon. [1285/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Micheál Martin

Ceist:

3. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent trip to Lebanon; the meetings that were held; and the detail of his discussions with the Defence Force while there. [1383/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

4. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent trip to Lebanon. [1398/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Richard Boyd Barrett

Ceist:

5. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to the Irish troops in Lebanon. [1833/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Joan Burton

Ceist:

6. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent trip to Lebanon. [3004/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (7 píosaí cainte)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together.

On 21 December last I travelled to Lebanon to visit members of the Defence Forces serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL. The purpose of my visit was to demonstrate Government support for the UNIFIL mission and the Defence Forces serving overseas and also for me to gain a better understanding of the work they do. I was accompanied by the Minister of State with responsibility for defence, Deputy Paul Kehoe, and the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett.

Ireland has contributed strongly to UNIFIL since the force’s establishment in 1978. Today it represents Ireland's largest overseas deployment, with some 380 members of the Defence Forces deployed. These women and men work alongside Finnish and Estonian troops and serve in a joint battalion. The current UNIFIL force commander is Major General Michael Beary of the Defence Forces. The visit provided an opportunity to see at first-hand the security challenges faced by UNIFIL in southern Lebanon. At mission headquarters Major General Beary briefed me on operations and I laid a wreath at the memorial to deceased UNIFIL troops. I toured the blue line between Lebanon and Israel and observed operations and capacity demonstrations, including with members of the Lebanese armed forces who are being trained by our armed forces. I had the opportunity to meet the Irish troops serving with the 111th Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Neil Nolan, most of whom come from the Cork area.. At the Tibnin monument to Irish troops who died while serving in Lebanon, I laid a wreath and met representatives of local communities in south Lebanon.

During my meetings with the Irish troops I thanked them on behalf of the Government and the people for their service, especially in being away from their families and friends at Christmas. I also emphasised Ireland’s strong commitment to the peacekeeping work of the United Nations and paid tribute to the contribution of the Defence Forces and the vital work they were doing, not only in southern Lebanon but in all missions with which our troops have served and continue to serve with distinction and courage.

The Taoiseach's trip to Lebanon to visit the 343 Irish troops serving with the UN-mandated UNIFIL mission was important and I commend him for it. I also welcome his decision to lay a wreath in memory of the 47 Irish soldiers who had lost their lives in the pursuit of peace in the region since 1978. Will he indicate whether he had any political meeting during his trip? If so, whom did he meet?

Speaking in Lebanon, did the Taoiseach at any point raise the Government's concerns about the move of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem? Did he have an opportunity to reiterate the Irish and EU stance on the importance of the maintenance of the position on Jerusalem until such time as there was a comprehensive peace agreement? Will he indicate when the Government will formally recognise the state of Palestine? Was he asked about the matter when in the region and did he make observations on it?

On the Taoiseach's discussions with the senior military personnel who accompanied him or were stationed in Lebanon, did he have discussions on the evolving role of this country in respect of PESCO? In which of the 17 projects outlined in PESCO will Ireland participate?

I join the Taoiseach in commending the Irish peacekeeping troops based in Lebanon who are contributing to UN efforts to maintain peace in that dangerous region. I acknowledge his concern about the decision made in December by the US President, Mr. Trump, to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The decision is in contravention of established international understandings and UN resolutions and has significantly heightened tensions in the Middle East. President Trump has substantially cut US funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, for Palestinian refugees in the Near East. At Davos he threatened to cut all aid to Palestine and close the Palestinian office in Washington. He is ignoring the rights of the Palestinian people in his support for Israel.

Currently, 350 children are held in Israeli prisons. Among them is 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi who faces up to ten years in prison for slapping an Israeli soldier. Tomorrow will be her 17th birthday which she will celebrate in an Israeli military court. Will the Taoiseach join me in calling for her and all imprisoned Palestinian children to be released? Will he consider committing to increasing our funding for UNRWA, as Belgium has done, to make up some of the shortfall as a result of President Trump's dangerous decision? Will the Government support Senator Francis Black's Occupied Territories Bill which would ban trade in goods produced by Israel in the illegal settlements? Will the Taoiseach agree to implement the Oireachtas decision of three years ago to recognise the state of Palestine and upgrade the Palestinian mission in Dublin to the status of a full embassy?

I too have had the privilege of visiting our troops serving overseas in the cause of peace, including in the Middle East. They are a source of immense pride for the country and always have been. One is always struck by the warmth with which they are received by host populations and the acceptance of their bona fides in making a contribution and their objectivity in peacekeeping and peace enforcement. The work of the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann in Lebanon and elsewhere is one of our most important contributions to the world.

Considering that I have raised this issue with the Taoiseach here on a number of occasions, he is fully aware of what I describe as the appalling treatment many of our soldiers and their families are receiving at the hands of the State. The simple fact is that many of them are living at little more than subsistence level. This has been well documented by the spouses of many working in the Army. Therefore, there is a significant divergence between the laudatory rhetoric in which the State engages and in which we engage when we celebrate the contribution of our troops overseas and the accounts of the quality of the conditions in which the troops work, the lack of investment and any significant paradigm shift in the recruitment and retention of those who work in the Defence Forces generally. I do not know whether this issue was raised with the Taoiseach in Lebanon in any shape or form or whether he made any attempt to address the legitimate concerns of the Army and Defence Forces personnel generally.

The security position in the region gives cause for real concern. The instability of Lebanon's Government, the role of Hezbollah, the circumstances in Syria and the increasingly assertive policy of Mr. Netanyahu and his government all add up to being very combustible.

Has there been any communication between the Taoiseach and the US Government on the threatened cuts to the funding for UNRWA? Palestinians will be in a perilous state if the cuts proceed. The recognition of Jerusalem by the United States as the capital of Israel is posing immense challenges to all those genuinely interested in peace in the region.

Obviously, it was positive to visit our troops. There is no doubt about their bravery and the importance of the work they do, but we really have to up the ante in our political criticism and questioning of what Israel is doing. As mentioned, there are many child prisoners, including Ahed Tamimi, while illegal settlement continues. Also to be considered is the strangulation of Gaza and the appalling humanitarian circumstances there.

Specifically regarding our troops, I presume the Taoiseach is aware that there have been some worrying signs of what Israel is talking about regarding Lebanon. This month Brigadier General Manelis, the Israeli defence forces spokesperson, warned of a possible war, another war, between Israel and Lebanon. In the summer of last year which was, interestingly, the same time Irish troops were forced to go to ground in the buffer zone in Syria having been fired upon by certain rebel groups that are reputedly co-operating with the Israelis Israel was talking about the UN presence in southern Lebanon as being unnecessary, implying cover was being given to Hezbollah. Israel was making all sorts of excuses to criticise the UN presence in the region. This is the sort of stuff that preceded previous Israeli attacks in Lebanon where thousands of people have been killed, including UN peacekeepers on a number of occasions. Therefore, we need to be robust in our criticism of Israel's warmongering in this regard.

It is welcome that the Taoiseach visited Óglaigh na hÉireann on its mission abroad. It is very important that the Irish Army receive recognition from the highest level of the Government. In Irish troops' various peacekeeping missions around the world - their mission in Lebanon has been one of their longest - they are recognised as being peacemakers and able to defuse circumstances that would otherwise be very tense and difficult, often at great personal risk, and which have resulted in death and injury in a number of cases. We really should pay tribute to them for their professionalism, commitment and peacemaking. That is a tribute to the peacemaking mandate of the United Nations, with which it is important that we continue.

What is the position of the Taoiseach on the conflict between Israel and the people of Palestine? Traditionally, the role of Ireland, as a small country - these are two small countries - has been to act as a peacemaker. That role should continue.

A lot of people who have been involved at different times in Middle East peace processes were deeply disappointed at the move by President Trump on the location of the American Embassy. I think that possibly has more to do with internal politics. Could the Taoiseach confirm that Ireland remains committed to a two-state solution, namely, that we recognise the state of Israel but that, as a Dáil, we will move to recognise Palestine?

I wish to restate what a privilege it was to visit our troops in Lebanon. Next year will be the 40th anniversary of Irish participation in Lebanon, with a small gap. A total of 32,000 Irish people have served in Lebanon, which is a huge number. Almost everyone knows somebody who has served in "the Leb" at some stage. What they have managed to do in south Lebanon is to allow people living in that part of the country to have a normal life. A lot of the troops who have come back to see south Lebanon, having been there 20 years or 30 years ago, say they cannot get over how stable it is, and how much economic development is now happening, in particular as the Lebanese diaspora bring their money back into the country. That would not be possible were it not for the UN mission in that region, essentially providing a buffer zone between Lebanon and Israel.

It is also a very important part of our foreign policy that we show our commitment to multilateralism by making our troops available to serve on those missions. There are other missions of great importance under way, such as in Mali, for example.

I did not have any political meetings. I met with some of the local council leaders, but they were courtesy calls. There were no meetings with politicians, as such. Inquiries were made about meeting with Prime Minister Hariri but it just was not possible to do it given the short timeframe in which the visit happened.

While I was there, an increase in tensions was reported as a result of the decision of the US administration to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. There was a march on the blue line but thankfully no life was lost. Ireland's position is that our embassy in Israel remains in Tel Aviv and until there is a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians we will not recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. We disagree with the US administration's decision to do so and we voted accordingly in the United Nations and recorded our protest with the US Embassy. We believe that by taking the decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital the United States has made it much harder for it to be seen as an honest broker in terms of a future peace settlement.

It is the Government's position that we are committed to a two-state solution - the establishment of a Palestinian state living side by side and at peace with Israel - and not threatening its security. In terms of recognition, what the programme for Government says is that we recognise the state of Palestine in the context of a peace agreement. There is no peace agreement as yet. We would have to think long and hard as a Government about recognising a state that does not exist. It does not exist because it is under occupation and we would have to consider the consequences of that. We know that when Sweden recognised the state of Palestine the response from the Israeli Government was to then lock it out of any engagement on the issue.

We are very engaged in the region. As the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, will explain in his speech in the Seanad tonight, we are involved in a significant number of projects in the Palestinian territories, including a solar farm that we are going to help build in the buffer area between the Gaza wall and Israel which will allow Palestinians to have power for more than four hours a day. If we recognise the state of Palestine, while I have no doubt that would have an effect in terms of solidarity, we would then be cut out of doing all the good things we are currently doing to assist Palestinian people on a practical basis every day. It is one of those decisions one has to make as to whether one wants to stand up for people all the time or whether one wants to do practical things to help them. Generally, I fall on the side of helping people rather than shouting for them.

On PESCO, we have not decided yet which programmes we are going to opt in to but they will most likely be around counterterrorism, marine security and harbour protection, but that is not decided yet. We will be increasing our funding to organisations that help Palestinians. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, will make a statement about that in due course. We very much regret and disagree with the policy decision of the United States to cut its funding to UNWRA.

In terms of our Defence Forces more generally, pay restoration is now under way. As part of the public service agreement with public servants, pay will rise between 6.2% and 7.4% over the lifetime of the agreement, fully reversing all pay cuts applied to people earning up to €70,000 and also reversing the 5% cut in allowances.

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