2026-01-27

13. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [68211/25]

14. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [1834/26]

15. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [3748/26]

16. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [4038/26]

17. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [5586/26]

18. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [5796/26]

19. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [5812/26]

20. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [5813/26]

21. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [5815/26]

22. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [6012/26]

23. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [6015/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 23, inclusive, together. I attended the seventh EU-African Union summit, which took place on 24 and 25 November 2025 in Luanda, Angola. The summit, which took place the day after the G20, was co-chaired by the President of Angola, João Lourenço, and the President of the European Council, António Costa. The summit marked 25 years of strategic partnership between the EU and the African Union. The theme of the summit was Advancing Peace and Prosperity through Effective Multilateralism, underlining the importance of the multilateral system and the centrality of partnership to address the most pressing challenges we face in an interconnected and very uncertain world. Given Ireland’s strong support for the United Nations and the principles of the UN Charter, I intervened in a session on multilateralism. I spoke about how multilateralism is core to Ireland’s foreign policy and our firm commitment to a strong, rules-based multilateral system with the UN at its heart. Leaders agreed a joint declaration which reflects the main outcomes of the summit. The European Union and the African Union committed to upholding the rules and principles of the UN Charter, including those of sovereignty and territorial integrity and political independence. Guided by these rules and principles, unwavering support was reiterated for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine, in the occupied Palestinian territory, Sudan, South Sudan, the DRC, the Sahel, Somalia and other wars and conflicts around the globe. The joint declaration also includes a focus on a deepened economic, trade and investment partnership. The European Union is the top trading partner of African countries collectively. African countries together constitute the EU’s fourth-largest trading partner. Significant progress was welcomed in the implementation of the global gateway Africa-Europe investment package in areas of mutual interest, reflecting a shared commitment to inclusive sustainable development. The unwavering commitment of the European Union and the African Union to continued partnership and mutually beneficial investment in green and climate-resilient initiatives in the areas of energy, transport and digital infrastructure was reaffirmed. Leaders further reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening dialogue and enhancing co-operation on peace, security and governance. They also recommitted to working together on supporting democracy, inclusive governance and the rule of law. The joint declaration also reiterates commitments to initiatives that tackle challenges such as terrorism, transnational organised crime, misinformation and disinformation, cybersecurity and hybrid threats. The joint declaration recalls the commitment of both the European Union and the African Union to deepening co-operation and dialogue on migration and mobility in a comprehensive, integrated and balanced manner, and in full respect of international law and human rights. On the margins of the summit, I met with the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio. We reflected on the close partnership between Ireland and Sierra Leone. Ireland is a key development partner for Sierra Leone, working on four main areas, namely, food security, education, governance and human rights, and gender equality. Our close relationship was further underscored by the recent appointment of Sierra Leone’s first resident ambassador to Ireland. Ireland will continue to be an advocate for Africa within the European Union. As an important institution for the promotion of peace, stability and development in Africa, we strongly support the strengthening of the partnership between the EU and the African Union. In that respect, the EU-African Union summit was a very important milestone in this partnership.

First, I wish to bring up the issue we are again dealing with, that of an incredibly turbulent, chaotic and conflict-ridden world. The Taoiseach spoke about the huge issues in Sudan. Part of Sudan's issue is that outside players are supplying weapons and absolute heartache, death and slaughter on a huge scale. What we need to see throughout the world is a fairer system. We are dealing with the issues of trade energy but I also refer to the debt that holds Africa back, as well as the absolutely necessity of multilateralism. Unfortunately, the might-is-right ethos seems to be causing damage. We obviously have the issue in relation to climate change but it is about how we introduce this fairer system. While we know it is all about trade, there is also the proper use of overseas aid. We have seen USAID being pulled back, while it was not necessarily always-----

I call Deputy Duncan Smith.

-----coming from an absolutely benign point of view. Also, regarding climate change and what I said earlier, the problem in Dundalk is that our wastewater system is not up to scratch.

I call Deputy Duncan Smith.

It will be 2033 before there are upgrades and that is impacting and causing flooding today.

In this time of global uncertainty, it is important we diversify and build up relationships with other countries. The Taoiseach's attendance at the EU-African Union summit is one instance of this, as was his visit to Canada to meet Prime Minister Carney. A lot has been made of Prime Minister Carney's speech at Davos last week. While building up relationships is important, it cannot come at the expense of our values. The current CETA trade deal with Canada does so. I am specifically talking about the investor courts aspect of it. The Arbitration (Amendment) Bill will be brought before us in the next couple of months. Canada has removed the investor courts from its renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA. Will the Taoiseach please divert course in terms of Ireland and lobby within the EU to have the investor courts removed from this CETA trade deal? Perhaps the spirit of Carney's speech might be used to negotiate with him in that regard.

I thank the Taoiseach for his report on the EU-African Union summit. I raise again the issue in Sudan and the crisis that continues there. Thousands have been killed and 800,000 people face starvation. Of the 17 million school-age children in Sudan, 13 million are not attending school. That is absolutely crazy when we think about it. Hospitals and schools are being incinerated. Now is the time for the African Union to step up and play its leadership role in the region with the support of multilateral actors. This is not only to say that it lets itself be held by vested interests but to say that it has an interest in the stability and security of the continent itself, that it supports peace and that it will call on the Sudanese authorities to map out a very clear timeline with firm dates for a full transition to democracy. This crisis is happening on our doorsteps. It is estimated that the famine that will ensue in Sudan will outcount what happened in Ethiopia in the 1980s. We cannot stand by any longer. The EU, as a senior multilateral partner, is now required to lead globally and put that pressure on the African Union.

I, too, wish to raise the issue of Sudan and other conflicts in Africa, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and the Sahel. Ireland has a proud history of peacekeeping in Africa. Has there been any discussion or consideration about UN peacekeeping troops being deployed to Sudan in the future? Would Ireland consider such a request?

The European Court of Justice nullified a trade agreement between the EU and Western Sahara. The African Union recognises Western Sahara as a place that is sovereign and should have self-determination but it is occupied by Morocco. The European Commission essentially refuses to accept international law and respect the right of self-determination of the Western Saharan people because it is engaged, with Morocco, in plundering the rare earth minerals, such as cobalt, and the fish resources of the occupied people of Western Sahara. They are now trying to get around the European Court of Justice's ruling on this, which was in favour of the occupied Western Sahrawis, by talking about autonomy. This has nothing to do with what international law states, which the Taoiseach said he supports, which is about the right to self-determination of an occupied people and, indeed, the right of an occupied people not to be occupied by Morocco or for the European Union to plunder their resources with the Moroccan regime. Ryanair has also started to fly into Dakhla in occupied Western Sahara, despite the protests of the representatives of the Western Sahrawi people and to the anger of the people who are occupied. Will the Taoiseach reaffirm his support, when the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara is being undermined by the European Union? Will the Taoiseach condemn what the European Commission is doing and indicate his support for the right to self-determination of the Western Sahrawi people, for an end to their occupation and an end to Ryanair flights into occupied territory?

The EU-African Union summit discussed the European Union's international digital strategy, which includes AI and online platforms. As the host country for so many big tech corporations, does the Taoiseach accept that Ireland has a unique responsibility to hold them to account? It is clear that is not happening. It is clear from the appearance of the Minister of State with responsibility for AI at our committee today that the main approach of the Government appears to be to hide behind the European Union and suggest the European Commission should act in order to shrink from taking action itself and just put it on the long finger. It also seems the Government approach has been to take the word of unscrupulous big tech bosses like Elon Musk. There was a Government press release after the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, met with X saying that "Grok, as integrated on the X platform, has been disabled from removing or reducing clothing on individuals worldwide." That was not true. I asked the Minister of State whether the Department had checked that out and whether it was true. It had not. In the course of the meeting, I was able to get someone in my office to use a VPN to pretend they were in Paris and, with my consent, create an image which undressed me. They said to the Minister of State not to worry and that this had been turned off worldwide when it has not been turned off worldwide and anyone with a modicum of tech knowledge will know how to get around this and continue to produce abusive materials. What will the Government do about it?

I think Deputy Ó Murchú was first into the breach, is that right?

Yes.

We are in a very turbulent situation. The Deputy referenced Sudan, trade, energy and debt. He is correct on the debt issue. It is a great pity the USA has pulled back significantly. I hope that will be reviewed because it is a significant loss to the world and the developing world, in particular. The Deputy again skilfully brought the EU-African summit back to Dundalk's wastewater treatment plant, which is not quite encompassed by the question but I will talk to the Minister and let him know the Deputy has been raising the issue. On Deputy Smith's point about Canada and Mark Carney, I met with the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, when I was at the high level week at the United Nations in New York, which all taoisigh go to on an annual basis. I took the opportunity to fly to Canada for an overnight to meet him the following morning. He wants CETA signed and ratified. We both discussed the benefits of CETA. I do not understand why Deputy Smith cannot endorse it.

It is just the investor courts.

Every trade agreement will have a mediation process and mechanism. Every trade agreement must have a mechanism process. The European courts dealt with that and clarified that significantly some time ago. The bottom line is the enormity of growth in trade speaks for itself, which benefits people in this country. It benefits jobs, it benefits small companies and it benefits big companies. The benefits are there. I really think the ideological straitjackets people have tied themselves into are very difficult to comprehend. Trade is our lifeblood as a small nation. The Canada-Europe trade deal has been effective in growing trade between our two countries - both ways, I add - and equally for our SMEs. We will press ahead with the arbitration Act and get that passed, which enables us to ratify that deal. That is important. Deputy Moynihan raised the issue of Sudan as did Deputy Ó Cearúil. Deputy Moynihan went to great lengths to point out the enormity of the atrocities that have been carried out and the enormity of the impact of this war on so many millions of people. In many ways, it is the forgotten war. It does not get discussed in this House to the same degree as others. The Deputy is correct that people talk about external actors. The joint declaration of the African-EU summit condemned the atrocities committed in El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces. It called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, unhindered humanitarian access throughout the country and reaffirmed the EU and AU support for a political process towards a unified and civilian transition, led by the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. Ireland has consistently said civil society actors need to be brought into the process, like we experienced in Northern Ireland. That is very important in any mediation efforts. We need a peaceful civilian transition process. There are ongoing negotiations to secure a three-month humanitarian truce. That will require significant and sustained political will from the United States, which is endeavouring to get peace there, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates - the so-called quad - and with the support of the European Union and African Union, and to bring the parties to the negotiating tables. Over three years of conflict has brought the worst humanitarian crisis globally. It is the worst. The Deputy said 30 million were not attending school. That is quite shocking - 30 million children are not attending school. The savagery and destruction of civilians is absolutely shocking. We have made our contributions. Women and girls are particularly at grave risk of sexual and gender-based violence. We try to support programmes to protect women and girls. Last year, we provided about €14.3 million to support people most in need in Sudan and those displaced by the crisis in neighbouring countries. We will increase our funding this year. I accept the sincerity of Deputy Moynihan in highlighting this. In terms of the Sahel, it was included in the joint declaration. Sometimes I would like the African Union to be more energetic with its interventions. From my perspective, and in respect of the savagery that is taking place, getting this resolved needs far more urgency. I understand and fully respect that it is the domain of the African Union but this is an appalling, shocking situation. A total of 22 million people across the Sahel need humanitarian assistance. There have been a number of coup d'états. The Russians have been involved. The Wagner Group has been involved. All sorts of deals have been done with rare earth mining and so on in exchange for security guarantees for the elites who have executed the coup d'états. That means that half of the Sahelian population - all of those countries - are now living in poverty and below the poverty line. The situation gets worse and migration increases as a result of that. The fundamentalists and ISIS then gain traction in the rural parts of the Sahel as a result of all of this. There has been a terrible deterioration over the past number of years. We contributed about €43.8 million between 2021 and 2024 to that region. We have maintained our development and humanitarian funding to the region as well. We opened our newest embassy in Sub-Saharan Africa and Senegal in January of 2023, anxious to develop our presence in francophone West Africa. It is located in Dakar and supports international development, security and peace in the region, in particular in the Sahel. We are increasing our presence in that part of the world. We want a just and lasting peace in Somalia, and, again, we acknowledge the efforts of the federal government there to strengthen its institutions and implement legislative reforms. The European Union has been a reliable partner for Somalia for decades. The EU has made significant contributions, mobilised through the African Peace Facility and the European Peace Facility, to the African Union. We are open to participation, but, again, that will happen very much by invitation. It will be a long time before the Security Council gets around to doing that. We have not been invited to date, but these are issues we keep under review. Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to Western Sahara. The ECJ judgment is maybe not as straightforward as the Deputy suggested. It is some time since I read the key aspects of the judgment and the legal opinion relating to it. However, we need a peace agreement there. We need mediation and a resolution in terms of Western Sahara and Morocco. On Deputy Murphy's point regarding digital strategy and unique responsibility, we have the same responsibility as everyone in Europe. The Deputy is wrong to say that we are hiding behind the European Commission. The Digital Markets Act is very clear that very large platforms with over 45 million users per week fall under the remit of the European Commission in the context of enforcement of the law and standards. The European Commission has announced that it is beginning an investigation into Grok and X, which is significant. Meanwhile, An Garda Síochána is pursuing issues relating to domestic law being broken in respect of child abuse images. Coimisiún na Meán is also pursuing this. The latter is working proactively with the European Commission. It is not hiding behind the Commission. I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, for her forthright and assertive work in respect of this issue. I met with all the relevant Ministers, including the Minister for justice, the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, the Attorney General and others in order to take stock of our existing laws. If our laws need strengthening, the Minister for justice and Attorney General will come back to the Government on that, although the view is that the legislation we have in place, namely the 1998 Act, in terms of child abuse and child protection, and the 2020 Act are actually sufficient. There is a lot in them bar the one issue around the generation of images. Sharing is both outlawed and illegal. The generation of images per se is not. There are complications around that, but the Minister and the Attorney General will come back to us in respect of that issue.

Because the time has elapsed, we will not have time to deal with Questions Nos. 24 to 46, inclusive. I propose that we move on to the next item of business.