Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

I commend the staff in the Passport Office. They are often extremely busy and do an important job. Sometimes they have to produce passports under difficult circumstances and at very short notice. We have all here probably added to their burden at times, dealing with urgent cases. It is early in the year yet but I am sure the office will get busy. Will the Tánaiste ensure there is sufficient staff …

I echo that. The sooner people check, the less likely there are to be difficulties. In most instances, the passport service works quite well. It can be very efficient at times, with a significant improvement in recent years, especially for renewals. People are often impressed at the speed at which the passport arrives. This is a huge credit to the staff and the development that has gone in there i…

I thank the Tánaiste. Most of the instances we deal with - I am sure it is the same throughout the House - relate to people who submit an application but receive notification from the Passport Office that something is not right or, very often, that the person who provided a signature on a consent form is not contactable. Typically, that is a garda. This can be an issue. We have Garda stations that…

5. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs his response to the latest Israeli offensive against the occupied West Bank. [4846/25]

We touched on this briefly. It is a grave situation. The Israeli Prime Minister is threatening to end the ceasefire and reopen a conflict that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. Hamas is threatening not to release hostages. Both threats are to be condemned. It is a very worrying situation. My question relates to the West Bank. I invite the Minister’s commentary in relation to t…

The sanctions that have been there are necessary but it is vitally important the EU as a whole politically raises its concerns. I urge the Minister in his role to encourage the EU to make strong statements against what has been happening in the West Bank since 30 January. UNRWA no longer has any contact with the Israeli authorities because of their ban. It has made it impossible for UNRWA - a UN a…

I agree with that. I welcome that meeting in relation to the association agreement which is something we have been raising here for the past two years or more. I will return to the debate we had earlier to make the point that for a long time the issue has been the challenge in trying to hold Israel to the norms of international law. It has acted with impunity and because of that has breached inter…

It is a change of substance.

I think Deputy Martin Daly is first. Is that how it works?

This is an area that will require a great deal of careful consideration. I understand the point the Tánaiste made that pronouncements and policy are not always the same thing with this Administration. Nonetheless, preparation will be crucial. There are two elements to it. It is important we are clear-sighted without being defeatist. There are undoubtedly vulnerabilities. Notwithstanding that, ther…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the advisory opinion rendered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 19th July, 2024, regarding the legal consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem in response to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 77/247 of 30th December, 2022; — the ICJ found that stat…

On a point of order-----

May I make an important point of order?

On a point of order, that paragraph was removed and is not in the motion before the House. There might have been an earlier draft in which an error was made. That has been rectified and we are not debating the motion the Minister is referencing. That error has been removed. It is not before the House.

It has been corrected.

From both the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Harris, we have heard lots of fine words from the Government benches. There is a lot of talk about the things that have been done. I will not gainsay that some of what the Government has done has been important. Some of that came about because of Opposition pressure and public pressure, but no doubt there was motivation from people in govern…