Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-22
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

Absolutely. I forgot to say in my first answer that I will take a look at the wording of the European Parliament resolution because I am not familiar with it. However, the Deputy is right that when we talk about peace and stability in the Middle East, it is hard, or almost impossible, to have that conversation without also looking at the situation in Iran. While Ireland is neutral and will remain neutral, that means we are militarily unaligned. The principles we have in relation to international law, human rights, democracy, freedom of expression and support for freedom of assembly are not in any way in conflict with our military neutrality. In many ways, they are complementary to it. The Deputy can therefore be assured that as we prepare for our Presidency, one of the many tracks we will pursue - the Minister, Deputy McEntee, will be working up our programme for the track in relation to our values in international law - will involve keeping a firm focus on the Middle East, standing up for human rights and international law and ensuring we continue to call out the brutality being shown to peaceful protesters assembling for a better future for them and their families.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:32+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-22