Neale Richmond

As the Minister has outlined, the Government's highest priority in the current conflict is the safety of Irish citizens in the region. This is a priority and concern shared by all here in this House. I am grateful to those Deputies and Senators who have been in contact with my office to raise individual cases. The profile of the Irish community in the region is diverse. It is a mixture of those wh…

I thank all of the Kenova team for their work. Over the past decade, they have shown that, almost 28 years since the Good Friday Agreement, legacy investigations and reviews can work. It is clear that the Kenova team has gone about this complex and sensitive work with care, placing victims and families at the heart of its endeavours. That is as it should be. In both the interim and final reports,…

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for consistently raising this issue. He is dead right; there is a distinct lack of attention on this around the world. I would like to think it is an exception here in Ireland. The Deputy is a part of that and I am very grateful for it. Last month, the conflict in Sudan reached its 1,000th day. It is continuing to have a devastating impact on the Sudanese people, partic…

On the humanitarian aspect, in terms of our partners, it is really important to stress the role of UNOCHA and the UN population fund. Ireland will continue to provide a commitment to all UN appeals because the humanitarian situation is grave. There is famine in Sudan, one of two man-made famines in the world at the moment, and it can be reversed through a co-ordinated humanitarian response and act…

I see no issue with that technical point. There are avenues to pursue that. The embargo in place is far from perfect on I think we can both agree but Ireland does believe in it. On keeping it on the agenda, at every Foreign Affairs Council and at every UN meeting I have attended, I have raised this. It is one of the key pillars of Irish interest - Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan – that is raised consiste…

I wish to thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The provision of consular assistance to Irish citizens who get into difficulty abroad is a cornerstone of the work of the Department of foreign affairs. The provision of consular assistance is at the request of the citizen or, where the citizen cannot request such assistance, by a family member or friend. As such, there are many instances where a…

I have great empathy and I do not necessarily disagree with the Deputy on that point but there are very real challenges. People may have dual or triple citizenship and there are a lot of things at play. They may not want Irish Government assistance. One thing the Irish Government does in all jurisdictions is work through our network, not just of diplomatic missions but also through our coalition a…

The Irish Government maintains a very open and frank level of engagement with the US Administration at all levels, not only at federal level but also at local level, particularly at state and city level. As the Deputy knows, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is in the United States at the moment. Where appropriate, we always raise those concerns. I have to stress this point. On the rights of the indiv…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 59 together. In June 2025, the Government approved the general scheme of the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (prohibition of importation of goods) Bill. The main purpose of the Bill is to prohibit the importation of goods into the State from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, in line with the programme for G…

There are a few things there and I will try to answer them in order. Regarding the situation in Ukraine, obviously it is much easier to implement and find a vehicle for sanctions that have been adopted by the Union as a whole when it comes to an area of trade competence. It is important to be clear as to what is happening around Europe because people have made assertions about what is happening i…

The clear point I was making is not necessarily in relation to EU law but the ability of different jurisdictions to progress legislation in a different manner as per their domestic parliamentary structures for creating legislation. We have to recognise that.

Of course, the Deputy is right that any legislation can be challenged. We have made it quite clear that we will not produce legislation that we feel will actually fail the test of EU or international law. That is a very real commitment because we are talking about the rule of law and the importance of it. We have to act as such. I must stress that this is not the only thing the Irish Government i…

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 ar…

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 u…

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…

Ireland remains deeply concerned at the ongoing erosion of human rights and democracy in Russia, which has been exacerbated by Russia’s illegal, full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we have seen a heightened number of arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as harassment and persecution, of peaceful anti-war activists, human rights defenders, jo…

There are a couple of measures there. First and foremost, Ireland has fully supported all 19 sanctions packages promoted by the European Union against Russia, the latest of which was agreed in October 2025. A 20th package of sanctions is currently being worked on and Ireland will be to the fore in supporting it. We absolutely condemn Russia's withdrawal from the European Convention for the Prevent…

It should be really important to say the Irish Government condemns the Russian Government. The Irish Government and our European partners condemn the regime of Putin and those who support it and fund it, particularly the oligarchs. We have great sympathy for the people of Russia who live in a state of fear and repression and it has been made quite clear what happens to those who speak out against …

I am grateful to the Deputy not only for raising this issue but also for her consistent advocacy for stronger Irish-Canadian relations in her role as convener of the Canada-Ireland Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group. As the Deputy knows, Ireland and Canada have cultivated strong political, economic and cultural connections, grounded in our shared history, values and commitment to a rules-based …

From a Department point of view, most of our spending in relation to strengthening ties with Canada happens within Canada. This is not just from the direct diplomatic missions, including in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa, but also with a range of groups that promote Irish culture and heritage and work with the Irish communities across the broad expanse of Canada. In relation to funding in country a…

One of the key strands to the Government's approach to Canada is promoting those cultural and historically links. That will not only be reflected in the new Global Ireland diaspora strategy that I look forward to launching at the end of April, but also in our commitment to working with our Canadian counterparts and using CETA not just for economic enhancement but looking where the real cultural an…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 70 together. I am grateful to both Deputies Gibney and O'Rourke for tabling this timely intervention. The Government strongly supports the EU’s competitiveness agenda. Simplification is a key enabler of this. The European Commission put forward ten separate simplification omnibus packages in 2025. Each package usually contains several legislative proposals …

It is important that I be crystal clear on this matter. The Government's position is that simplification must be about better regulation, not deregulation. We need to reduce the regulatory burden, particularly for SMEs, while maintaining high ambition in terms of protections, including environmental, human health, privacy and a range of other standards. The omnibus proposal is not actually an omni…

Where is the relevance?

I will not be baited by the needless false comparison from Deputy Gibney in somehow bringing the triple lock and neutrality into this really serious debate. She asked who the stakeholders are before, without any evidence, telling me they are just businesses. In fact, stakeholders include civil society, work organisations, the trade union movement and citizens as a whole. There is a clearly enshrin…