Trade Agreements
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-05
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Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (SF), Cork South-Central

I had another question on this, which probably will not be reached. I have to say a couple of things. First, the Irish Government has historically had a strong position in relation to this. I ask the Minister of State to maintain that and to maintain support for Sahrawi self-determination. On a minor note - it may not be minor in some respects - I do not agree with the framing of the SADR as "the opposition". That implies that it is the opposition within Morocco. It is recognised by some countries as the legitimate government of Western Sahara. I do not believe that it is recognised at this point by the Irish Government, but it is recognised as a government. It is the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. The current situation is not sustainable. There is nearly no other country in the world that I can think of where the majority of the population is in exile in refugee camps. That is the case currently. The majority of the Sahrawi people are in refugee camps in southern Algeria. It is important that there is a referendum. It was promised decades ago back in the early nineties. That needs to progress. Ireland should insist on that. We must ensure that the rights of the Sahrawi people are not discarded through this process of the trade deal.

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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