Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to be associated with the remarks on the passport service, which is an excellent service that has gone from strength to strength, as well as with the remarks on our diplomatic staff. The experience of diplomatic staff in Tehran and Tel Aviv in recent days and the incident in the West Bank some weeks ago reflects the fact that serving Ireland internationally on a diplomatic level is not without risk. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. I think there is a consensus in this House that our diplomatic staff serve us very well in representing us as a country.

My first question relates to Vote 28, subhead A8, and human rights obligations in terms of the EU, but I would extend that also to the EU’s human rights obligations. There was a meeting yesterday, which the Tánaiste referred to, on the EU-Israel association agreement. The outcome of that was disappointing, to put that off again by a month in the context of a genocide and the weaponising of aid. It was the position of Spain that the agreement should be suspended. Was that the position of Ireland at the meeting?