Trade Agreements
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-05
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Neale Richmond (FG), Dublin Rathdown

It must be made clear that Ireland maintains bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Morocco. We have an embassy there and a resident ambassador here, but we also maintain engagement with the opposition within Western Sahara. We do have that full engagement with all peoples, recognising that about 20% of Western Sahara is under the control of the self-determination movement. We tread a delicate line here, to be quite frank. I am not trying to be evasive or dismissive in any regard. The irony of having to uphold obligations under EU law and implementing something while there is still a full ratification process under way is not lost on me. The concerns that the Irish Government raised were multifaceted, but the pace with which this agreement was concluded was of major concern to us, and we raised that. There is a little bit of extra detail that I might supply the Deputy with in written form. I do not have it to hand at this moment.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-05