International Developments: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-06 ============================================================ Garret Kelleher (FG), Industrial and Commercial Panel Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Richmond, as teacht isteach chun éisteacht agus labhairt linn agus páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht mar gheall ar ghnóthaí idirnáisiúnta inniu. I welcome the remarks of the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and begin my contribution by referencing the ongoing situation in Gaza and Palestine. As I have done on a number of occasions, I state at the outset that there is absolutely nothing antisemitic in what I have to say, and I firmly believe in the right of all people who inhabit this earth to exist peacefully side by side. The State of Israel was established in 1948 in the years immediately following the Second World War when the full extent of the atrocities of the Holocaust came to light. Without doubt it is right to acknowledge that what happened during the Second World War to the Jewish people was a calamity on a scale never before seen internationally. Every support was offered by the international community, particularly on the Allied side, post Second World War with regard to the establishment of the State of Israel. It is also important to point out that no amount of suffering, evil or outrage confers the right on any people to justify a genocide. That is a strong term but it is what we have seen in recent years in Gaza. It is important for us to stand up against that and to use our soft power on the international stage and to use the diplomatic channels and alliances we have at UN and EU level to continue working towards a just solution that will arrive at a two-state solution in the Middle East where the people of Palestine and the people of Israel can co-exist side by side. I appreciate because of the historical nature of the evolution of the State of Israel that there are political complexities at a European level and that the plight of the people of Palestine is not afforded the same level of support at European level to that mentioned by the Minister of State in the context of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. I recently referenced in a joint committee on foreign affairs that apart from a small number of Hungarian MEPs, the debate in February in the European Parliament on the fourth anniversary of the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine was a positive one in which, by and large, solidarity was expressed. I spoke in recent months in a meeting at which the Acting Chair was present when the German ambassador visited Seanad Éireann. I tried to impress upon him the point that we need to work towards a solution and in that regard Europe needs to play stronger role in the Middle East. That is something we need to continue working towards, as the Minister of State has alluded to, and to work with like-minded European countries. I will make reference to two of the UN sustainable development goals. I was recently at a meeting in Tralee where I had an interesting conversation with Dominic Crowley, chief executive of Concern Worldwide, with whom I know the Minister of State has a close working relationship. During the presentation given to us, Mr. Crowley made reference to sustainable development goal 2: zero hunger. When the sustainable development goals were initially established over ten years ago the target was zero hunger by 2030 and it was all targeted towards 2030. Mr. Crowley gave a forecast backed up by data at UN level indicating that the likely achievement date of zero hunger is actually 2137, rather than 2030, which is 111 years from now. I asked what to me seemed a hopelessly inadequate question about how we, as elected representatives at a national level, could work with international partners to bring more hope to that to try to achieve an achievable goal sooner. His simple response was that the main contributory factor towards that bleak prospect is international conflict. We need to use whatever power we have, particularly when there is a lack of leadership shown by some countries on the international stage from whom we had seen strong leadership in the past. At EU level, particularly as we approach July, we need to work with our European partners to ensure that our Presidency of the Council of the European Union is a progressive one. We need to work with partners. The second sustainable development goal I will reference is goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive equitable and quality education while promoting lifelong opportunities for all by 2030. I was attended the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Youth earlier today and had a conversation with Ms Ponke Danker who is the vice-chair of the Irish Development Education Association, IDEA. She is also the co-ordinator of the Irish Network for Education Worldwide, INEW. In an informal conversation I had with her after the meeting, she cited the Global Education Monitoring Report 2026, which as the Minister of State is aware is partly funded by Irish Aid. That has an expected achievement date of 2105, 79 years from now. In the Acting Chair's own contributions here in the Chamber, she would be a very strong advocate for the Irish language and the seanfhocail. Two that always stick out with me are "Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine" and "Ní neart go cur le chéile". We are stronger working together. Outside of our position as a member state of the European Union, we are also a member of humanity and we need to work to ensure that the most vulnerable throughout the world receive the protection they deserve. In that regard, we are trending in the right direction with our international development aid, which I understand is north of 0.5%. It depends on how you look at it, but 0.56% was one of the references of 2024, although others argue it might be as low as 0.4%. However, it is important that we work to achieve that and stand against those who suggest we move in the other direction. Not only that, but we should also encourage international partners, where possible, to work in the right direction. I did not make any reference whatsoever to the likes of the challenges on climate but there is a disproportionate impact that our actions have on developing countries. I apologise for going a little over time. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-06/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:54+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-06