Humanitarian Aid
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-02
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

There are two things here. We need to make sure the European and international community are very clear in our view and position on this. Ireland has been very clear and taken a very clear position. Over a number of years, although we are discussing the fact things have escalated further, we have had ongoing dialogue and contact with the US on a range of international issues. That includes Cuba. We have relayed and conveyed our concerns directly with them. We have communicated our position on the US embargo, the impact of the embargo and the international response to the humanitarian crisis but also the importance of maintaining diplomatic engagement. Earlier on this year, there was progress made between the Cuban Government and the US. However, that then shifted and changed. This continuing approach has not changed. What we want to do is ensure that the dialogue and the structure are there. We have an EU-Cuba political dialogue and co-operation agreement. There are some calls for that to be reviewed or changed. We need to look at the structure that is there now. We need to engage directly with that government.
There have been concerns around human rights, democracy, government concerns and how we work directly with the government to address those concerns while at the same time engaging directly with the US. This is about dialogue. The only way this is going to be resolved is through dialogue and through the US engaging directly with Cuba but also the Cuban Government addressing and responding to some of the significant challenges that been identified by the international community. Our position through that co-operation agreement should be to ramp up and enhance that dialogue and engagement, particularly at a time where we are seeing devastating consequences for many people because of the sanctions or the blockade that has been imposed.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-02/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:14+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-02