Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade
Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised)
2:00 am
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source
In my view, the decision that was taken yesterday was absolutely wrong in the context of the severity of what is happening. I invite the Tánaiste’s comment on the issue of aid. Aid should be unmolested and uninterfered with in humanitarian situations. There is a situation now where multilateral organisations – the UN and its aid agencies – are being prevented from distributing aid and people are starving on account of it. That is the situation we are facing.
This is the scale of the human rights abuses that are happening. For European countries to put off a decision on whether Israel is in breach of its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel association agreement is unacceptable. Will the Minister comment on what is happening with regard to aid and the weaponising of aid in Gaza?
We have had a number of discussions on overseas development aid. This is under Vote 27, subhead A4. One of the items being discussed because of the large gap left by USAID is that the international debt of Third World countries is coming onto the agenda. I invite the Minister to comment on this.
With regard to Vote 28, subhead A15, I know the Ukrainian Government has flagged to the Tánaiste potential issues with items produced here unintentionally having dual use in the war of aggression by the Russian Federation. Is the Tánaiste exploring whether items produced in Ireland potentially go to dual use in that location?
No comments