Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would have to have the recommendation in front of me, which I do not. I will not comment on something that I do not have in front of me.

Mary Robinson is heading up a body that we agreed to set up to look at the future of the Council of Europe and what it can do in the changed political environment on the Continent. There are 46 countries in the Council of Europe. Russia was expelled a number of months ago. We need to look at the role the Council of Europe plays in promoting human rights and democracy, adherence to the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, and the reforms that are necessary to deliver in those areas.

We very nearly agreed a resolution on climate and conflict. We worked incredibly hard on it. We got 113 countries to co-sponsor it, which is almost unheard of in the UN, yet Russia decided to veto it anyway, because it has maintained that climate has nothing to do with security or the UN Security Council. That is unfortunate because the view across the UN more generally is that climate is very much an accelerator and a driver of conflict. The parts of the world most impacted by conflict are, for the most part, also the parts of the world most impacted by climate change. I do not think that is a coincidence.

We are thinking about the role of Ireland in the UN beyond the UN Security Council because we want to try to make sure that we maintain as much influence as we can. The UN has always been central to Irish foreign policy. Multilateralism allows us to survive and thrive. If there is no rules-based order, then we return to a might is right approach to running the world, where the large superpowers dominate their spheres of influence, which would be a disaster for countries like Ireland. We will remain active within the UN system, but we will not be sitting on the UN Security Council where many of this key debates take place. That does not mean we will not still be driving the same agendas relating to nutrition, education for girls, women, peace and security, and munitions being used in highly populated areas. We have an active role relating to the UN Human Rights Council and we hope to be on the council from 2027 to 2029. We will also drive the disarmament agenda. These agendas are backed up by our development programmes and will be the kind of issues that we raise at the UN General Assembly and across many committees in the UN.

The Chair asked about Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe. We need to be a stickler for process in this and we will be. I am taking legal advice at the moment. I have spoken to the foreign ministers from Kosovo and Serbia, which are the two key countries involved. They have different perspectives. Our job is to follow procedure and process in a way that is legally sound. I think we can do that. I think this issue will come more to the fore from October onwards.

I thank Senator Craughwell for his comments on the decisions of Government today. I look forward to launching the full detail tomorrow. I know the Senator will read that with much interest. As part of the Government decision, we have prioritised moving ahead with a primary radar system on the west coast, which is important. We do not have overflight arrangements with the RAF, to be clear.