Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I repeat what I said to Deputy Bacik, which is that what the Taoiseach did yesterday in the White House was extremely important from Ireland and Europe's point of view. We are, as the Deputy will know, at a particularly important time in the geopolitical relationship between the United States and Europe. A very significant break has taken place in that relationship, which has existed for ever 100 years. The focus of that the break is in NATO. As I said earlier, there was a real benefit that the Taoiseach was out there as the leader of a European country that is not a member of NATO, but he was able to emphasise the importance Ireland places on the rules-based system and the international order. That is in our Constitution. We have consistently done that. We have consistently had a record of being a country that believes in the peaceful resolution of disputes, not the resolution of disputes through military force. The Taoiseach has to deal with the circumstances with which he is faced. Obviously, if Deputy Boyd Barrett was Taoiseach, he would not have gone to the United States-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-18