John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his opening statement and it is good to have him before the committee this evening. I concur with what he said about our staff, particularly those in New York who work for the Security Council. I, too, would like to be associated with his comments. The staff do exceptional work and are great representatives of Ireland.

First, I wish to refer to Tigray and Ethiopia. I share the Minister's concerns about the ongoing onslaught perpetrated on civilians in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. I know EU foreign ministers are due to meet again next week. I welcome the statement made by the Security Council. I know how difficult it has been in the past to get a consensus on even issuing a statement. There are serious concerns, as the Minister well knows, about the potential for famine within the region, so the eyes of the world must remain on Tigray and Ethiopia. Everything that can be done must be done, including full humanitarian access. I plead with the Minister to ensure the eyes of the world remain on Tigray and other regions such as Yemen where, unfortunately, conditions are quickly evolving into a humanitarian crisis.

I am sure the Minister will not be surprised when I say that I want to focus on discussing Palestine and Israel. I welcome his recent visit to the region and engagement. Over recent weeks there has been a serious escalation in what can only be described in a continuous onslaught, not just against Palestinians but also human rights in general. How does the Minister view the comments made by the Irish ambassador to Israel last June who stated Israel is a country "based on the rule of law, on democracy, and on respect for human rights and human dignity"? Are the ambassador's comments in line with the position of the Government? I ask because it certainly is not in line with the view of experts.

A statement made by UN experts, dated 3 November, states, "Israel settlement expansion 'tramples' on human rights law". We know that is the case because Ireland was the first EU country to state formally that the ongoing illegal, colonial settlement policy by Israel breaches international law. I want to home in on that issue first. There are real concerns given that up to 15,000 additional illegal settlement units have been given the go-ahead and as many as 3,400 of those settler homes are in the E1 area. The expansion of settlements is really concerning and the expansion of the E1 settlement is especially sensitive. In the past the EU, the US and we have said that any expansion would cross a red line. Unfortunately, there has been no follow-up at EU level nor at the Irish level following Ireland's historic decision to declare that Israel had breached international law in annexing Palestinian lands. I would like to hear the Minister's views on same.

I welcome the statement of condemnation the Minister made last week. The situation has surpassed the point of condemnation and now we need definitive action. Palestinian civil society groups has said the end game is being played out by Israel. We can see that with the settlement expansions and with what can only be described as an absurd move a fortnight ago by Israel to designate six Palestinian civil society organisations as terrorist organisations. I am sure the Minister is well aware of the situation because we, as a country, donate to two of the organisations that have been designated to be part of the list.

It is concerning that these are the eyes and ears which ensure that a spotlight is shone on violations of Palestinian human rights by Israel. These organisations have been central to gathering information and facts to bring to the International Criminal Court, ICC. Therefore, this is a move by Israel to silence criticism and to stop the work these organisations are doing on the ground.

I note that the Minister has said that no evidence has been produced. There has been a lot of talk about this dossier that Israel has produced. Has the Minister seen the contents of that dossier? Has any further evidence been put forward by Israel regarding this issue? I ask that because there is no evidence, and that is the bottom line. These groups are concerned by this designation of them as terrorist organisations, and not only in the context of their safety but that of their ongoing work for the Palestinian people.

Will we continue to provide funding to those organisations? Will the Minister assure us categorically that that money will continue to be provided, irrespective of what the Israeli authorities say? Will finance continue to be provided to support those organisations? Concerns have also been expressed that the chilling effect in this regard may cause some of the financial institutions and banks to stop the flow of money to these organisations. What actions is the Minister going to take in this regard? What communications has he initiated with the financial sector and the banks to ensure that the flow of funds will continue to these organisations to allow them to continue to do their work? It is particularly concerning that this move by Israel has been little mentioned at EU level. What actions is the Minister taking at EU level and why is this silence continuing at EU level?

We must go beyond talk. This committee carried out comprehensive work and produced a report on demolitions, settlement expansions, etc. It was published, and I hope the Minister has had an opportunity to read it. It was a damning report and made several specific recommendations. Therefore, I hope the Minister has read it and that he is prepared to look at the recommendations made by this committee, some of which are actions that should be taken immediately. I ask the Minister to comment on that aspect. Words are no longer sufficient in this context. We need action, and we must work as a unit. I am prepared to work with the Minister to move beyond words, rhetoric and condemnation to look at serious actions and measures that we can take if we are serious about standing up for human rights in this regard.

The last issue I want to touch on is Brexit. It is not part of the work we are looking at here, but it is a serious issue and I cannot let this opportunity go without raising it. Major concerns exist regarding what the British may or may not do in respect of triggering Article 16. Dog whistling is coming from 10 Downing Street and the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. Unfortunately, that is being picked up on by elements within the loyalist community. We have seen the same thing in the dog whistling that came from certain political parties in the North yesterday. The result on the ground has been the hijacking and burning of buses. Cars on the Shankill Road with southern registration plates have also been hijacked and burnt out. Therefore, there are real concerns in this regard.

If the Minister can take a few seconds to address this issue, I ask him to comment in respect of outlining our continued defence of the Good Friday Agreement and our concerns around triggering Article 16. What can we say to people in this regard? Are we going to ensure that the protocol stays as it is? Are we going to ensure that there is no hard border on this island? I ask the Minister to give his views and those of his Department on these issues, and to reassure those people who are concerned about this dog whistling and the effect it is having in certain quarters in unionism and loyalism. I refer to the concerns regarding the violence which may stem from such dog whistling.