2026-02-05

60. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she will report on the support she is providing the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation’s Holocaust education programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8340/26]

It is appropriate to be able to pose this question in the aftermath of International Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January. I want to ask what the Government and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is doing to support the work of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation Holocaust education programme.

I thank the Deputy for this very timely and important question. Ireland is deeply committed to the cause of Holocaust remembrance and to ensuring that the suffering and horror of the Holocaust is never forgotten. At a time we are witnessing a deeply concerning rise in global antisemitism, including Holocaust denial and distortion, it is more important than ever that the victims of the Holocaust are honoured and that the lessons from that terrible time are learned. Ireland has a long-standing relationship with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, a non-profit, independent organisation created to secure the long-term preservation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. I am sure I am not alone in having visited the site over the years. Through the Department, Ireland has provided grant funding for a number of years to the foundation’s perpetual fund for the essential work of maintaining the Auschwitz museum and preserving its artefacts for future generations. In 2025, a grant of €50,000 was made available for this purpose, marking the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the camp’s liberation. The funding of €100,000, announced by the Minister, Deputy McEntee on the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January, represents a significant increase on previous funding. This funding has been provided and is a response to the realisation that Holocaust denial and antisemitism generally has grown in recent times. We have also seen the results of the recent survey by the Claims Conference which demonstrate that, despite an existing strong programme of Holocaust education in Irish schools, 12% of those surveyed had never heard of, or were unsure if they had heard of, the Holocaust. Almost 10% of young adults in Ireland believe the Holocaust did not happen and many more again were unaware of the numbers of Jewish victims. These figures are outstanding and alarming. The programme for Government contains commitments to give effect to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism and to the implementation of the EU Council declaration on fostering Jewish life and combating antisemitism. The funding of €100,000 to Holocaust education is a strong illustration of the Government’s firm commitment to counter the scourge of antisemitism, of which Holocaust denial forms an important element.

If we needed proof that an education programme is important, that was given to us in a recent survey undertaken by the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, with the involvement of an Irishman, Professor Gideon Taylor, son of a former distinguished Minister and Member of these Houses. As the Minister of State has pointed out, it was established that 10% of people believed that the Holocaust was a myth and 19% believed that the slaughter was exaggerated. We can never lose sight of the fact that two thirds of European Jews were slaughtered mercilessly, deliberately and in an industrial fashion during that Holocaust. The antisemitism we see today is linked to and caused by the atrocities experienced by the Jewish people then and in the many pogroms that happened beforehand. What else is being done by the Department to combat antisemitism and to ensure that we build the best possible understanding of what happened during the Holocaust, so that it will never, ever happen again?

I want to elaborate a little on the work of the funding. The funding will build upon the existing programme of Holocaust education provided by the Department of Education and Youth in Irish schools. It will enable the foundation to make available to schools in Ireland virtual guided tours of the Auschwitz Museum and Memorial, further enhancing opportunities for Irish young people to deepen their understanding of the Holocaust. I do not need to repeat the worrying statistics that myself and the Deputy are both appalled by. Ireland places great value on the importance of education to counter Holocaust denial or distortion with inclusion of the Holocaust in the school curriculum. My Department works closely with the Department of Education and Youth. There have been ongoing commitments in recent weeks where senior members of the Government have met regularly with representatives of Ireland's Jewish community, including the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister for Justice and Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs. Most recently, the Minister, Deputy McEntee met with the Jewish Representative Council. Just last week, the Tánaiste visited Stratford College, the only Jewish denomination school in the country, with Deputy James Geoghegan and a number of other local representatives.

I commend the Minister and the Government on what they are doing. It is really important work. When does the Minister of State imagine that this work will commence in the 600 schools around the country where it is going to be delivered? Does he think there is a possibility, given that children and young people are not just influenced by what happens and what they experience in school, but particularly by what they experience in their homes, that there is a need to educate some members of the public who are inculcating false thoughts, ideas and motivations in their children? Would it be possible to have some sort of public media campaign via the Department around the period of International Holocaust Memorial Day, which would drive home to people the extent of the slaughter and the extent of man's inhumanity to man that happened at that stage?

I welcome the comments by the Minister of State and the question. It is important that support is provided for organisations such as the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. The statistics from the survey are concerning. Unfortunately, they reflect similarly concerning findings, perhaps worse findings, in other jurisdictions. Clearly, it is important that the message goes out from all sides of these Houses that Holocaust denial or minimisation is appalling. We need to be very clear that the Holocaust happened at the scale at that it did and that it was an atrocity of a very particular and repugnant character. Human history should always record it and we in Ireland should acknowledge it. It is important that all sides of the House speak out against antisemitism, particularly in the context of incidents such as what happened on Bondi Beach. Nobody should be targeted for their religion, whether they are Jewish, Muslim, Christian or any other, but it is important the we speak out against antisemitism.

I am very grateful to both the Deputies for their timely interventions. To directly answer Deputy Ó Fearghaíl's question, it is expected that these tours will be made available to Irish schools in the next academic year, so that is not too far away at this stage. There is a great opportunity for all of us as local representatives to engage with schools in our constituencies to encourage them to be part of this programme. Just making it available and providing funding are not enough alone. We need to encourage people to partake and we need to encourage people to speak out and be quite clear that Holocaust denial and Holocaust distortion are forms of antisemitism. There is zero place for antisemitism in Ireland or anywhere else around the world, but sadly we are seeing increasing levels of high-profile incidents, not necessarily in this State. It is therefore incumbent on us as elected representatives to lead, to engage with our local media and local communities and to make sure that we have this education foundation going to school-age children, which can then make its way into homes but also we need to reach out to those who are not in formal education any more as well.