Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:16. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach to report on the international division of his Department. [11604/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 28 March 2023
Ceisteanna (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
Bríd Smith
Ceist:17. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the international division of his Department. [11607/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Gino Kenny
Ceist:18. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the international division of his Department. [11609/23]
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Seán Haughey
Ceist:19. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the international division of his Department. [12707/23]
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Ruairí Ó Murchú
Ceist:20. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the international division of his Department. [13882/23]
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Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:21. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the international and EU division within his Department. [14828/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Mick Barry
Ceist:22. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the international division of his Department. [14882/23]
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Gary Gannon
Ceist:23. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the international division of his Department. [14892/23]
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Marc Ó Cathasaigh
Ceist:24. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the international division of his Department. [15077/23]
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Ivana Bacik
Ceist:25. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the international division of his Department. [15089/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (22 píosaí cainte)
I propose to take questions Nos. 16 to 25, inclusive, together.
The EU and international division works on all aspects of EU and national policy within the Department. It helps me to promote Ireland's foreign and economic policy objectives and to develop and maintain strong bilateral and multilateral relations. Working closely with other Departments, especially the Department of Foreign Affairs, the division assists me in my role as a member of the European Council and in my other EU engagements. It provides advice and briefings for meetings of the European Council and for other EU and UN summits.
The division gives me advice and briefings on bilateral relations and works to ensure a strategic and coherent whole-of-government approach to crosscutting EU policies and on international issues generally, including global peace and security, overseas development assistance, international human rights and the external dimensions of climate action. The division also oversees the implementation of the Government's Global Ireland 2025 strategy and chairs a senior officials group on the implementation of the sustainable development goals, in close collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The division co-ordinates my international travel and my engagements with visiting Heads of State and Government and other international figures and organisations. It also prepares the work of the Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs.
Deputies have one minute for each question.
Enormous protests over the attempt by the far-right Netanyahu Government to interfere with the judicial process have rocked Israel. For Palestinians, there is a pretty grim irony in all of this. While it might be legitimate to worry about political interference with independent judicial workings, for the Palestinians there is absolutely no recourse to justice whatsoever because, as many human rights organisations have reported, they are victims of an apartheid system, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing, and have been for decades. Their rights are never vindicated. The western powers who are so keen to impose sanctions on, for example, Russia for doing similar things in Ukraine, refused point-blank to impose sanctions on Israel for doing the same thing to the Palestinians. How does the Taoiseach square that inconsistency in the refusal of the European Union to impose sanctions on Israel?
In his engagement with international Heads of State and Government, has the Taoiseach met or does he intend to meet President Macron of France any time soon? When he does meet Mr. Macron, will he condemn the shameful police violence that has been perpetrated on citizens throughout France who are protesting the elongation of their working lives? To be clear, their working lives are not increasing from 62 to 64 years of age. There is also a clause contained in the pension extension that will force most workers to have 44 years of continuous service in order to receive a full pension. For French people, who leave school much later than we do, that will mean working until they are 67 or 68 years of age. That is a possibility for workers in this country. Perhaps we need some French lessons to show us how we need to resist this kind of thuggery against older people and workers. I ask the Taoiseach to condemn the violence of the French police against workers across the country and indicate this to President Macron.
I wish to ask the Taoiseach about the advice given to him on bilateral relations with China and whether its role with regard to international peace and security is being revised following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is important to have good relations with China. Trade is particularly significant in this context. For example, our food and drinks exports to China exceeded in 2021 €700 million. In recent times, some concerns have been expressed. There have been human rights issues, including the suppression of protests in Hong Kong and the treatment of minorities. There was the case of Richard O'Halloran. There are concerns about the future of Taiwan. Questions are being asked about how China uses technology. China is not at all supportive of the sanctions on Russia. Did Ireland raise its concerns in this regard? Is the EU concerned about these matters? Relations between the US and China have deteriorated dramatically. In the Taoiseach's view, do the closer ties between Russia and China pose a threat to international peace and security?
A right-wing Israeli Government is involved in racist and apartheid policies and is escalating the illegal annexation of Palestinian land. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, a State entity, is a shareholder in nine companies, including four banks, that are operating in illegal Israeli settlements. Will the Government support Deputy John Brady's legislation to make this illegal? We have to take action. We owe this to the Palestinian people.
Earlier, the Office of the European Union Representative (West Bank and Gaza Strip) published its one-year report on demolitions and seizures in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, for the period 1 January to 31 December 2022. A total of 953 Palestinian homes and structures were demolished or seized in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2022. This represents the highest number recorded since 2016. In total, 1,031 individuals were displaced and 28,446 were affected as a consequence of the demolitions. The six-year high in demolitions recorded in 2022 was also accompanied by a spike in the scale and severity of settler violence. Of the structures targeted in the 12-month reporting period, 101 were funded by the EU or EU member states and were valued at over €337,000. What actions is the Government taking to oblige Israel to offer compensation? What actions are we taking to ensure that Israel is held accountable for these heinous crimes?
The Taoiseach mentioned overseas development aid, climate action and the sustainable development goals. Ireland's voice on the international stage far outweighs the country's size. It is vital that we use that voice for the right purposes. There are a number of set pieces coming here in regard to the sustainable development goals. In July, we will make our voluntary national report to the UN to update our progress on sustainable development goals. Perhaps more significantly, in September heads of state, of which I hope one will be the Taoiseach, will gather in New York to review the implementation of the 2030 agenda. Just as we shared a chair with Kenya when these goals were first negotiated and agreed upon, we will share the chair with Qatar during the review. It is a significant and important role. What preparations is the Department of the Taoiseach making to get ready for it?
Two weeks ago, Ministers scattered to the four corners of the earth for St. Patrick's Day. We all saw the pictures from New York and Washington, but I want to refer to some visits that received rather less media attention. I am interested in, for example, the visit of the Minister of State, Deputy Josepha Madigan, to Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal under threat of sentence of death. I am interested in the same Minister of State's trip to the United Arab Emirates, a country in which the United Nations has warned that torture is being used. I am interested in Hong Kong, which was visited by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in the very week when some of the 10,000 people arrested two years ago for protesting to defend democratic rights were being tried. I could make a strong argument as to why none of those visits to countries run by dictatorial regimes should have gone ahead, but I would hope, at the very minimum, that strong protests were registered by the representatives of the Irish people. Can the Taoiseach tell us where I can obtain a report on these visits, including a report on who Ministers met and what was said?
I raise the case of Bernard Phelan, an Irish citizen who has been held hostage in Iran since last October and who has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison. In late February, he was sentenced to three and a half years for providing information to an enemy country, a charge he denies. He was then pardoned on humanitarian grounds, but was brought back and the pardon was revoked. His sentence is now a dreadful length. His family have highlighted his serious health condition. His 97-year-old father Vincent intends to hand in a petition to the Iranian embassy this Thursday. What action is the Government taking to ensure Bernard's release or, at a minimum, that he gets the health care he needs? Is the Government going to insist on proceeding with opening an embassy in Teheran? Can the Government push for Bernard's release on humanitarian grounds?
In response to Deputy Barry, I am sure the line Ministers would be happy to provide reports on their meetings and what was and was not said. It is standard for Ministers abroad to raise human rights concerns and issues if they are meeting another politician, but not necessarily if they are meeting somebody who is not a politician or representative of a Government.
I am aware of the Phelan case. We are working on it. Suffice to say, relations between Ireland and Iran are not very close for many different reasons. I am not sure if threatening not to open an embassy would be helpful to Mr. Phelan's case. These are sensitive issues; we are trying to deal with it as sensitively as we can. We have a chargé d'affaires in the German embassy who is working with the Iranian authorities to do anything we can to secure Mr. Phelan's release. That is what we will do. Ultimately, we are in the hands of the Iranians in that regard.
Deputy Ó Cathasaigh raised the sustainable development goals. Ireland holds the pen, with Qatar, on this issue. It will be a priority for the Government, and for me as the Head of Government, in the coming months. I will be in New York in September for the UN General Assembly. We made some very good progress when the sustainable development goals were first agreed, but for lots of reasons, including wars, pandemics, and hyperinflation, the world has fallen backwards in terms of achieving those goals and I would like us to get back on track again. That is something we are going to prioritise in our UN-related work, in particular between now and September and then beyond.
I very much welcome the fact that the government in Israel has suspended its plans to reduce the independence of its judiciary. When it comes to Palestine, as I have always said, we support Palestinian statehood and independence. We oppose the occupation, the settlements, and the poor treatment of Palestinian people and the second-class citizen status of Arabs within Israel. Israel is a democracy, at least in the sense that its citizens get to elect its government. It has LGBT rights. It has trade-union rights. Trade unions were at the forefront in standing up to the attempts-----
They are Jewish-only trade unions.
-----in Israel to change the judicial process. It has equality for women. It very often has Arabs represented in government and business in senior positions. It is very different from the countries in its neighbourhood where all the Jews have either left or been expelled. In Palestine, for example, there have not been elections for a very long time. In my view, there should be. In my view also, the anti-gay laws in Gaza should be repealed. It is not just in Qatar; it is also in Palestine. There should be women's rights and women's equality in Palestine too. Palestine should also have an independent judiciary in the Palestinian Authority areas.
There are no sanctions.
What about the ISIF?
I met President Macron last week in Brussels. We did not have a bilateral meeting but we were attending the European Council and we spoke en marge of that. We discussed the pension reforms. I understand in France they are trying to bring the pension age to 64. It is 66 here, and perhaps heading for 66 in Northern Ireland, with a 43-year rule. I explained to him that we have adopted a different approach in Ireland whereby people are able to choose to retire between the ages of 66 and 70 and that the amount of pension they receive will depend on their contributions based on 40 years over a possible 56 years, and also taking into account periods of caring. We had a good discussion on that.
I thank the Taoiseach.
Of course I condemn any violence, provided it is not lawful, and provided that it is not in self-defence.
Is violence ever lawful?
It can be, certainly in self-defence.
The police were not self-defending. The Taoiseach can see the footage himself.
I would encourage the Deputy to condemn any violence by protestors, or any attacks on police as well.