Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-13
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

Ireland's unequivocal position is to support the international rules-based order and the United Nations. We want reform of the United Nations to make it more substantial and authoritative, particularly in terms of the under-representation of many parts of the world. In our view, Africa, for example, should be represented on the Security Council, and other major blocs should be as well. The Security Council is outdated in terms of composition and membership. We believe in full participation at all multilateral forums. That has always been Ireland’s position and will continue to be. We support the peaceful resolution of disputes through the multilateral frameworks without question. That will be our position when we have the Presidency of the EU. It is also a case of strengthening the EU's own self-reliance and capability. In this regard, the Deputy is correct that Europe cannot always rely on others. That is why there is now additional expenditure on defence and military capability in Europe. Europe in many ways agrees with what the Deputy is saying, and many EU member states feel Europe itself has to develop its own capability and self-reliance in many fields.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-13/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-13