Parliamentary questions

173. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her position regarding the possibility of EU candidate countries joining certain EU programmes, such as the single market, while still on the path to full accession; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7281/26]

1. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide details of his engagements with the embassy and government of Bahrain with regard to a human rights defender in custody in that country (details supplied). [6756/26]

2. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the ongoing construction of a children’s hospital in Ukraine (details supplied); if he will consider allocating targeted funding for this project as part of Ireland’s wider financial support for Ukraine; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6772/26]

3. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will raise the matter of the ongoing construction of a children’s hospital in Ukraine (details supplied) at an EU level to propose direct funding for this project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6773/26]

4. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether the State has recognised any of Northern Cyprus, Kashmir, South Ossetia, Transnistria, or Western Sahara to be "occupied territories";; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6812/26]

5. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she has spoken formally with the Dutch ambassador to Ireland since her appointment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6819/26]

6. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will consider facilitating a meeting with an Irish based engineer that is part of the ongoing construction of a children’s hospital in Ukraine (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6923/26]

225. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount her Department has spent on legal fees for each of the years 2020-2025, in tabular form. [5537/26]

226. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if her Department will run a recruitment campaign during Q1 seeking fluent English to Spanish translators and English to Italian translators for temporary positions within her Department for the duration of the Irish Presidency of the EU. [5559/26]

227. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the date each Irish ambassador and or consul general have been deployed to the current position; and when will each of those positions be next up for redeployment, in tabular form. [5560/26]

228. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her Department’s stance on the digital omnibus proposal, in its current form, as published by the European Commission; to outline any changes they will seek to the proposal or concerns they have on its contents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5597/26]

229. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the nature of EU sanctions that apply to those engaged in or contributing to Russian state sponsored media, including a network (details supplied); if such sanctions apply to any Irish citizen; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5617/26]

230. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a breakdown of expenditure by her Department and bodies, agencies or organisations under her remit on paid verification services on a platform (details supplied) or any other verified account products, for each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; the number of verified accounts held under each catego…

231. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she plans to have an Irish Consulate General Office based in Cancun, Mexico. [5745/26]

232. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the current status of the proposed EU-Australia trade agreement; whether it is envisaged that a final agreement will include visa free travel via a labour mobility scheme; the provisions that will be included in such a labour mobility scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5900/26]

233. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to detail all engagement she has had with Iraqi authorities on the continued detention of an Irish resident (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5938/26]

234. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether a country (details supplied) can deny a visa to an Irish passport holder due to the fact the passport is a five-year passport that has been issued to a child under the age of eighteen years (details supplied). [6025/26]

235. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures her Department is taking to address the impact of climate crisis globally, and to support poorer nations in adapting. [6277/26]

236. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the Government's current policy position on the legitimacy of the Iranian regime, in light of sustained mass protests, the suppression of political opposition, and documented human rights abuses in Iran; and whether Ireland, either bilaterally or at European Union level, has considered or advocated for any formal m…

237. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Ireland's position at EU level on the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, including whether Ireland has supported or intends to support such a designation within relevant EU Council discussions. [6409/26]

238. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions Ireland has taken, or proposes to take, within the European Union to strengthen sanctions and restrictive measures against the Iranian regime, including those relating to oil exports, regime-linked assets and the activities of Iranian state or proxy networks operating within Europe. [6410/26]

239. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Ireland's current policy regarding diplomatic engagement with the Iranian regime; whether the downgrading or closure of Iranian diplomatic missions within the European Union has been considered as part of Ireland's response to ongoing repression and transnational intimidation by the regime. [6411/26]

240. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether Ireland has raised, or intends to raise, within the EU or the United Nations the urgent need for international civilian protection mechanisms and humanitarian access for Kurdish communities currently displaced in northeast Syria, particularly around Kobani, in light of the Syrian Government's recent military offensiv…

273. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland is supportive of the EU suspending the present trade agreement negotiations with the United Arab Emirates over its role in the ongoing Sudanese civil war and its link to those perpetrating a humanitarian catastrophe there, including large scale mass killings; if Ireland will advance this position at the Foreig…

274. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the US military planes which flew over south Tipperary on the night of the 14 January 2026 were cleared to fly over this territory; if so, what their cargo was; if they were carrying ammunitions, weapons or parts of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5172/26]