Everybody in the House wants the same outcome, which is to find a way of regularising the lives of Irish people living in the US in the shadows. For many years they have lived and worked there and paid taxes there. In many cases they have married and have families growing up in the US. Often they are unable to come home for family funerals or for normal interaction with family and friends because they would not be able to get back into the US. It is a trapped way of living that consecutive Governments have been try…

What we have done here at home strengthens our argument in terms of what we are asking of the US and what the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has done in terms of regularising the status of thousands of people in Ireland looking to have their status recognised. It is a very progressive example of how to do this.

Perhaps a special envoy would help. I would say that our embassy in Washington is all over this. It is constantly briefing key people. We have very strong advocates and supporters in the Friends of Ireland group and people outside of it. The Biden Administration is also supportive. We are not short of political support. There are impediments, some of which are outside of the control of people in Washington, with regard to the nature of the E3 visa and its links to Australia. We are working on it, that is all I can …

Amnesty International is a respected NGO and I value the role it and other civil society organisations play on these issues. The assertions in the report echo those we have seen in a number of recent similar reports. These reports undoubtedly raise difficult questions for the Israeli Administration. Ireland’s position on these matters is, and will continue to be, based on international law, including international human rights law and Israel’s obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention as the occupying power in…

I have not used the word "apartheid" and I have explained why. We have had a detailed debate on this issue and this report in this House. The Deputy was part of that discussion. The position I outlined then is the same as I have outlined today. Our approach is about bringing about change on the ground, helping Palestinians and holding the Israeli Administration to account for the decisions it takes. We have to build international consensus around that. That is what I am focused on trying to do. The Deputy seems to …

Yet again, the Deputy has outlined a whole series of actions he says we should implement but that we cannot. We do not sell arms to Israel, so how can we stop? The Deputy is calling for an arms embargo. Ireland cannot impose an arms embargo on Israel but he calls for one anyway because it makes for a good sound bite. He wants to impose trade restrictions on Israel. Ireland cannot do that. A number of Attorney Generals have now confirmed that to me and I have confirmed that to the Deputy but he cannot accept that be…

We are focused on what we actually can do to try to bring about change, to support Palestinians and to try to support the progress of a peace process that has gone backwards in recent years. We are doing this through diplomatic engagement, visits and constant vocal objections to what we see as breaches of international law. We use every international forum to do that. That is what we will continue to do.

I thank the Deputy for the question because it is useful to put this information on the record. There are a number of channels available to Deputies to flag issues that their constituents are having with passport applications. The main issue creating pressure at the moment is the sheer volume of applications. It is off the charts when compared with anything else we have experienced in recent years. There have been record numbers of applications for three months in a row now, that is to say, we have had the highest …

The Acting Chairman might suggest some music.

We are always open to suggestions to improve the experience. There have been very high volumes this week. I understand that the wait time on phones has been longer than normal. We will respond to that by increasing resources accordingly. That line is up and running; it was never there before. People effectively had to look online to see the status of their passport application. We put in place a specific Oireachtas service that only Oireachtas offices can call into, but it is busy. Many of the applications are stuc…

We now have more than 770 staff in the Passport Office compared with 450 last summer. Within the next six weeks or so that number should be up to 900. That effectively means a doubling of staff in the Passport Office over the past six or eight months. I agree with the Deputy on the turnaround times. Passport express is a bit of a misnomer. It is not an express service. It is a much slower, paper-based service through the post. That is certainly an outdated marketing term now. We are looking to move away from the te…

This is also a useful question to respond to on the record. Ireland’s policy of military neutrality has long been an important strand of our independent foreign policy. As practised by successive Governments, the policy means that Ireland does not participate in military alliances or mutual defence arrangements. While militarily neutral, Ireland has always been politically active, promoting peace and development through the UN, the EU, and our bilateral initiatives. This approach has also informed our active engage…

I stand over all those things. People have questioned the triple lock for years on the basis of not being comfortable with a country in the UN Security Council being able to veto a decision Ireland might want to make to send troops to some part of the world. On balance - I have advocated for this - I think the triple lock is a good thing. I can completely understand why people would question it in terms of Ireland's ability to decide where in the world our own soldiers may go.

Many people have questioned the wisdom of it. I can give the Deputy details on it if he wants. In the context of my comments on Ireland potentially participating in a rapid reaction force, that is simply a development of what already exists. Irish personnel have been training for years in what are called battle groups, the most recent one led by Germany, which ensures interoperability, common standards and the sharing of training facilities and equipment. This is so that if Ireland does decide to send peacekeepers …

There are no plans to send any Irish naval vessels abroad for now. We have challenges in the Naval Service at the moment in terms of recruitment and retention. We have work to do to get our personnel strength up to where it needs to be so we have the flexibility to be able to send a vessel from our naval fleet perhaps to another part of the world, should it be justified to do so, should it be consistent with a UN mandate and should it have the approval of this House and the Government. That is just like we did when…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 87 together. The Deputy does not need to tell me there has been a war raging in Yemen for the past seven years. I have answered questions on that many times here and I have spoken on it at multiple fora. Yemen is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, driven by seven years of conflict, economic collapse and the breakdown of public institutions and services which has left millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance. There is very strong consensus across the EU…

The idea that the war in Yemen is categorised as a war for which one country is solely responsible is completely inaccurate. This simplified notion that it is all Saudi Arabia's fault is just not true. Saudi Arabia has a role to play in terms of bringing about a ceasefire and Saudi Arabia has responsibilities in terms of ensuring that civilians are protected in war, as any warring party has under international law and the relevant conventions. However, it is not true to say, as is being suggested by the Opposition,…

Given the importance of the issue we are discussing and its consequences for people in Yemen, terminology such as the Tánaiste "wining and dining" and so on in an attempt to cast aspersions is unhelpful.

I listened to the Deputy so he should hear my answer, please. My understanding is issues have been raised in relation to the war in Yemen by the Tánaiste but it is my responsibility as the Minister for Foreign Affairs to raise these issues directly with the countries involved, which I have done repeatedly on behalf of the Irish Government and people, in terms of expressing concerns. I have spent time travelling and meeting in person with the UN special representative, to try to make sure we are consistent with the …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 81, 111 and 123 together. Ireland implements UN sanctions, as adopted by the UN Security Council, and EU sanctions, as adopted as part of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy. Ireland does not adopt unilateral sanctions; the sanctions in force in Ireland in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine are EU sanctions, agreed and adopted by all EU member states. Similar measures have also been adopted by the US, Canada, UK, Switzerland and other like-minded countries. This co-or…