Simon Harris

What date is the Deputy referring to?

In 2023?

My apologies. This is what appeared online in relation to a story alleging that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had authorised a US military plane to refuel at Shannon Airport on Sunday on its way from what is now called the Department of War airbase to an Israel Defense Forces base.

There was a second article on 17 October that reiterated the claim that the State had allowed the transfer of munitions of war on board a US military plane and, indeed, that it had apparently been authorised by me to touch down at Shannon Airport to travel through Irish territory on its way to Israel. Having reviewed the Department’s records, the flight in question was a civil aircraft that trave…

I have been quite clear in relation to this matter, in relation to the role my Department plays, in relation to the types of flights that require diplomatic clearance, in relation to the monthly log that is published on the Government’s website and in relation to the system of exemptions that operates under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 …

Ireland and Canada enjoy a strong relationship based on a common history and a shared commitment to democracy, human rights and a rules-based international order. I am pleased to say there have been a number of positive developments in this relationship in recent months, including the visit by the Taoiseach to meet with Prime Minister Carney in Ottawa last month. Both reaffirmed the enduring frien…

That is a great idea and a very constructive suggestion. There will be a number of opportunities where we can try to constructively explore this. One would be the fact that the Taoiseach has invited the Canadian Prime Minister to visit Ireland next year. I am delighted to hear that the Prime Minister has agreed, so we will have Prime Minister Carney here. I will let Deputy McGreehan ask the Taoise…

I am sure he will be delighted to. The Deputy brought President Biden there so why not Prime Minister Carney? As the Deputy can imagine, we will want that visit to have a legacy, and that legacy has to be based on opportunities to deepen ties. The de Chastelain link is one we are very proud of. I had the honour of meeting that man, who was an incredible individual. The Deputy is right to highligh…

I agree. Prime Minister Carney is a friend of Ireland. Canada and Ireland are friends. We need to work together. I am delighted to hear of the friendship group and Deputy's McGreehan's chairpersonship of that. I am delighted that hear from Deputy Lahart of the foreign affair committee's visit to Canada. They can perhaps drop off the invite to County Louth while they are there. I agree with Deputy …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 140 together. I thank Deputies Lahart, O'Meara and Ardagh for the questions. Russia has to be held accountable for its action. In my view, Ireland's view and the view of the Government, Russia needs to pay for the destruction that it has brought and is sadly still bringing about by its illegal brutal war in Ukraine. As a result of extensive sanction measure…

It is a good idea. My Department remains available to brief any Member of the Opposition, and most particularly party spokespeople and leaders.

I do not want to say off the top of my head that they have not, but I am not aware of any such recent briefings. However, it is available. I will talk to the Taoiseach to how best to facilitate the Deputy's suggestion. It is a good one because there is a war on the Continent of Europe. This country is going to have the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of …

Ireland agrees with that principle. The European Union is clear that Russia needs to pay for the destruction. What we also need to do - and based on what the Deputy said, the Ukrainian ambassador is correct - we have to find lawful ways of doing this. We have to work with international partners. There are some member states in the Europe Union that have concerns around this for a whole variety of …

I thank Deputy Burke for the question. I met Secretary Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, on 25 September at the Department of Commerce in Washington DC as part of a broader bilateral visit to the US. This meeting provided me with a valuable opportunity to discuss the dynamic economic, trade and investment relationship that exists between our two countries, as well as the implementation of…

Deputy Burke is so right. We have to constantly push back against that idea of it being a one-way street because that is not what the economic relationship is, as the Deputy rightly says. There are over 200,000 Americans who got out of bed this morning, probably many of whom voted for President Trump, and went to work in Irish-owned companies in every state across the United States of America. It …

On these visa applications, Secretary Lutnick was telling me he did not have direct responsibility for it but I made the point to him that what I am sure they do not wish to do is to have some sort of chilling effect on people who may wish to go and carry out critical roles in the US economy, or on the innovators and entrepreneurs who wish to establish businesses. I thought there was a need to hav…

Deputy Lahart is doing a lot of heavy lifting this evening. I thank him for taking this question and I also thank Deputy 'Chap' Cleere for tabling the question. It is a really important issue and one that Ireland has genuinely tried to shine a spotlight on and has tried to work on in international coalitions for quite a period of time. We have been consistently condemning the deportation and the f…

It is. When I attended the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland I attended a number of meetings on this with the then Prime Minister Trudeau. It is horrific. When I visited Ukraine, I visited Kyiv and I met with the International Red Cross and UNICEF and visited a centre that was working with children and families where there had been forced displacement. It is an absolute horror. I note that the F…

I thank Deputy Heneghan. I am really pleased that all of the Irish citizens detained following their participation on the Global Sumud Flotilla and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition have now returned home. I thank them, and the Deputy as part of that flotilla, for what they did to highlight the horrific humanitarian catastrophe, the genocide and the famine in Gaza. It takes guts. It was an act of cou…

I have been very clear and reiterated again that I believe - we can call it whatever word we wish - the detention of our citizens was illegal. These were peaceful citizens who posed no threat or risk to Israel - quite the opposite, in fact. They were going there on a humanitarian mission. I reiterate my view on that, and I have discussed that view with others, including my Spanish counterpart, and…

I am aware of those discussions and we will always keep all that under active consideration. I believe, as I know the Deputy does, in multilateralism, and the world has never needed that more. At a time when it is under attack from many quarters, it is important that Ireland take every opportunity to demonstrate our support for multilateralism, the work of the UN and the UN General Assembly while …

I thank Deputy Ward for this question, all his work as an Oireachtas Chairperson in this area and the genuine passion and interest I know he has in it. As colleagues will know, Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time from next July until December 2026. Preparations are well under way, led by my Department in close co-ordination with the Department…

I am really glad the Deputy raises this because I raise it all the time. There has to be and there will be a focus on schools. It is really important that this Presidency involve all the people of Ireland, most particularly the next generation of committed Europeans in this country. That opportunity, as the Deputy says, to expose young people to the first Presidency they will have lived through fr…

I think a lot of the work around the multi-annual financial framework will fall to our Presidency. That is why we have taken a decision as an Irish Government to get our own priorities into the Commission in advance of that Presidency. Of course, when you take up the Presidency, you assume a role as an honest broker. I expect that to be a very busy period. I am glad the Deputy brought up enlargem…

Coincidentally, I have my North-South Ministerial Council pen with me as a reminder that we only had the meeting in Farmleigh a couple of days ago - on Friday, I think. Since the restoration of the Good Friday Agreement institutions last year, there have been 31 meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council in plenary, institutional and sectoral formats. There has been a huge body of work in th…