Resources have been allocated in this year's Estimates so we will do it as quickly as possible in terms of securing a premises and the allocation of personnel. It will take a normal timeframe. These are missions where we can establish a presence relatively quickly. I have been to Australia on a number of occasions. Melbourne will become the largest city in Australia before too long. It has a strong historic Irish-Australian community as well a new younger Irish community of whom thousands were born in Ireland. Aust…

We are having a great impact with the diplomats we have and value for money is very important. It is not about the numbers but about the quality. We have a very high-quality diplomatic workforce. I am glad the Deputy is coming to that view. I said that our Presidency of the EU is key to the timeline. The new missions will open in 2025 or 2026. The embassies in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Chisinau will open no later than the second half of 2025 given their importance for our EU Presidency, which will be in 2026. That is …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 12 together. I have been closely monitoring developments in the case taken under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, the genocide convention, by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ. I welcomed the court's January order in this case, particularly the direction that Israel take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Ireland has been consistent in calling for …

I regret how this debate is being conducted because it is more about playing politics. It is important that we be upfront with the public. The Attorney General's presentation last week demonstrates that we are doing the right thing from a Government perspective. Our action involved a robust legal submission to the ICJ on the question of the UN seeking an advisory opinion. This was followed up by oral participation in the court on well-informed and well-researched legal grounds. I refer to a legal intervention that …

Just as in the case of Ukraine v . Russia, it makes sense that South Africa would submit the substantive case, which is called a memorial. It normally takes four to five months for such a memorial to be lodged. It makes absolute sense in this context for us to work with South Africa. Our legal advisors are very clear on this point, and in saying that we may identify our own grounds in respect of how we intervene. We are proactively looking at approach in terms of what basis to intervene on if we were to do so. In m…

But why-----

It is not.

The Deputy does. He has.

With the greatest of respect to the Deputies, they have played politics with this. They did not quote my full statement to the House on the motion in question, when I made it very clear that we would await South Africa's filing a substantive case and that our legal people would, in the meantime, examine any particular grounds we could explore in respect of any legal intervention we might make. They are very narrow. I am very clear that the Deputies opposite have condemned Government. They have tried to create a wed…

We have been very clear. This is a legal intervention and needs to be done properly and with credibility as we have done all along. Ireland has been one of the few countries within the European Union that is utilising the international courts properly, effectively with due analysis, looking at these things rigorously. Six weeks ago, in the debate on that motion, I said that we would consider intervening, but we first of all had to see preliminary findings in the South African case. This is exactly what happened wit…

I pay tribute to the Deputy, who was probably the first Member of this House to raise the question of Alexei Navalny during Oral Questions in a long time. Unfortunately, Mr. Navalny's death was announced subsequently. Ireland is deeply concerned at the ongoing shocking erosion of human rights in Russia, and the persecution of individuals for exercising their personal freedoms, including rights to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly. The domestic political situation in Russia has steadily descended …

First of all, I welcome the Deputy raising these questions because we do not have the same level of scrutiny on Russia in this House as perhaps we should have with regard to debate. It is a striking feature of the House that there has been an absence of a more detailed debate as to what is happening within Russia in the suppression of freedom of expression. I agree with Deputy O'Callaghan and I salute the bravery of Mr. Kara-Murza and Mr. Yashin and their commitment to speak out against their authoritarian governme…

First of all, Deputy O'Callaghan's point is a very fair and important one. Russia is no ordinary country and is a significant power. It wields considerable influence across the world, be it in Syria, Africa or in some parts of Europe. It clearly has significant influence on states within the EU and is endeavouring to disrupt some EU states. It has already now put EU leaders in Estonia and Latvia under threat of detention because of the alleged destruction of Russian monuments in European Union capitals. It is very …

On the Magnitsky legislation, and the Deputy raised this at the time, the Department of Justice view was that we already had sufficient instruments that mirror the Magnitsky case, but again, I will go back because I know that the Deputy has been a very strong advocate for that and I have no issue at all with the principles behind that.

I thank the Deputy for raising the question. Ireland has in recent weeks engaged in several concrete initiatives regarding the conflict, all of which have been underpinned by our clear and principled position. In view of the unacceptable levels of violence being perpetrated by certain Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank, in particular since 7 October 2023, I have underlined my strong support for EU sanctions targeting violent or extreme Israeli settlers. This is a matter I have raised …

I do follow the BBC reports and I pay tribute to the BBC because I believe it has brought some sharp insights and has revealed and exposed a great deal, notwithstanding the limits and constraints on how it can operate within Gaza. The situation is shocking and we and I have condemned it. I disagree with Deputy Kenny's characterisation of Irish foreign policy. I invite Deputy Kenny to go to Israel.

Hear me out.

I ask the Deputy to hear me out for a second. I had not finished the sentence. I invite him to go to Israel, meet with the Israeli Government and find out first-hand what it thinks of the Irish Government's position or the Irish people's position. The Israeli Government does not think we have done nothing. I will leave it at that. We have shown leadership on all the concrete issues that have had an impact over many years. Ireland was the first European Union state to call for the Palestinian right to a homeland. Th…

The Deputy knows the answer to his question about the occupied territories Bill. The European Union has a legal competence when it comes to trade. I do not agree with the Deputy that it would have the impact he says it would.

Europe has been proactive in certain respects in-----