Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies and Senators for their contributions. I join with Deputy Brady in welcoming the Windsor Framework and particularly the certainty it will give to business and to industry, some of which are doing quite well while others in the context of consumer goods were finding aspects of the protocol difficult. In all of the practical day-to-day issues that were raised, from goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland it is now free-flow and all of the barriers have been removed, essentially. This applies also in the context of parcels, pets, and medicines. A definitive and sustainable solution has been found for that. Whatever food is on the shelves in the UK is on the shelves also in Northern Ireland and whatever medicines are permissible at any given time under certain conditions are permissible under the same conditions in Northern Ireland. With state-aid provisions, it is a very comprehensive set of measures. There is also the democratic input issue, or deficit, as some have raised with us.

That is responded to in the context of the Stormont brake, which is the term being used. It is at the end of a series of mechanisms. The whole agreement is in the spirit of using mechanisms to sort out issues that might arise from time to time.

Deputy Brady asked about the Executive and the Assembly. Irrespective of the negotiations and discussions on the protocol, once an election happens, there is an obligation on every party, including the DUP, to convene the Assembly, go into parliament and form a government. I have said this consistently since the election, and I said it years ago when the Assembly was collapsed for different reasons and we did not have it for three years. I said that democracy demanded that the people's vote be respected through the formation of Assemblies and Executives.

It is fair that people be given time to examine the detail of the agreement. My understanding is that there will be up to 400 pages long. It is substantive and wide ranging and took a number of months to put together. Therefore, it is fair that people have time to read the agreement and fully understand it. Parties will consider it. I hope that, in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland and in light of the issues that people are facing in terms of the cost of living, education, health and so on, people revisit decisions that have been taken in respect of the Assembly and the Executive and restore them.

I agree with the comments on our strong team at the Security Council. Senior people in the architecture of the UN have looked enviously on the quality of the young people working on our team. Some have been asked to serve with them. People watching our team members at close quarters saw their effectiveness and impact. When I addressed the Security Council in September 2021, I met all of our team and came away optimistic about Ireland's future. To see such a young team of committed diplomats with great conviction and knowledge of the files for which they were responsible, be it Palestine, Syria or Ethiopia, gave me cause to be optimistic for the future of this country, given that we still attract young people of calibre into our diplomatic service. I pay tribute to them and to the leadership of Ms Geraldine Byrne Nason, who is now our ambassador in Washington, for going at this with great conviction and determination. Deputy Brady outlined the outcomes in Tigray and north-west Syria. Many people on the ground and going about their daily lives probably do not appreciate it, but when we teach international relations in second and third levels and we ask our young second level students to be global citizens, which is the theme of many secondary schools today, those outcomes are the outward manifestation of the value system we inculcate among young people. We want them to be citizens of the world. People can take decisions at a UN Security Council once in their lifetime that will directly affect up to 4 million Syrians in getting basic humanitarian need. We should not be slow to affirm the good work of our young diplomats.

Regarding Ukraine, it was mentioned that it was time for Ireland to join with others in seeking peace. Ireland never wanted war. At times, I find there can be an element of equivalence. Russia started the war, and the war could end tomorrow if Russia stopped it. Prior to the war's onset, many efforts were made by EU leaders directly with Putin to prevent it. Some EU leaders were criticised, most notably President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Vladimir Putin and tried to prevent the war through dialogue and diplomacy by offering discussions on a continent-wide security architecture that would meet the needs of Russia or address whatever vulnerabilities it feared it had. The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, did likewise. Other EU leaders went and spoke to Putin to stop him from going to war, but he carried on regardless.

We want peace, but the challenge is that Russia has clearly been gearing up for an offensive for some time. Ukraine wants to repel that offensive and, through a counteroffensive, regain its territories. From what I can see, the situation is not a good one in terms of the war's impact on young soldiers on both sides. It is an appalling loss of life. Aspects of this war have been likened to the trenches of the First World War, particularly in how the Russians are conducting it by sending wave after wave of battalions to attack Ukrainians, getting killed in the process. It is also a strong artillery war as well as a 21st century war, with technologies like drones and so on. The destruction is terrifying.

Be under no illusions – quite a number of leaders are always watching out for opportunities to try to get a peace track going. This is not a war in which two sides engaged, though. This is an illegal invasion. It is something that no one else wanted, least of all President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian Government, but they have to deal with its fallout.

Those who are the aggressors – Russia in this case – need to know that there is a unity of purpose and strength in those who are telling them that they have violated the UN Charter and the multilateral rules-based order and that that comes with a cost. It is gratifying that there has been such a unity of purpose among EU states, the US, the UK and other like-minded rules-based countries.

Regarding Palestine, I disagree with Deputy Brady about our position at the Security Council. I recall how, six months into our Security Council term, Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the European Council. He called me to one side and praised Ireland for its proactivity on the Palestinian question on the Security Council. Ireland is well recognised internationally for its consistency and outspokenness in condemning and calling for a cessation of settlement expansion and violence within the West Bank and Gaza. As recently as 19 December, we reiterated our position at a meeting of the Security Council that focused on the issue of Israeli settlements. On that occasion, we led a joint press statement with a number of states demanding that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in that regard. Equally, we welcomed the presidential statement by the Security Council this month expressing opposition to all unilateral measures that impeded peace, including, inter alia, Israeli construction and expansion of settlements, the confiscation of Palestinians' lands, and the legalisation of settlement outputs, demolition of Palestinians' homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians. On 24 May, following the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, Ireland organised an informal meeting of the Security Council on the protection of journalists. We stressed that peace and security, freedom of expression, and a free and independent press were inextricably linked. We called for an independent investigation into Shireen Abu Akleh's killing and for the perpetrators to be held to account.

We were active on the Security Council on the Palestinian question, and we continue to be active now. We welcome that discussions took place at the weekend between Israeli and Palestinian security officials, overseen by Jordan and Egypt, to try to de-escalate the current tensions at least. Commitments were made on all sides. We need swift and complete implementation of those. The Deputy is correct, in that the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank last year was shocking. It was the highest number in a long time. That is not good enough and we are worried about it.

We have had discussions with the Palestinian authority. I believe the Palestinians should hold elections as well. This issue needs to be dealt with, notwithstanding the challenges. I understand the Palestinians' issue with East Jerusalem. Israel should facilitate the holding of such elections in Jerusalem. It is important that democratic legitimacy is affirmed by elections. The Deputy raised the issue of Iran and-----