Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for his support of the statement which I made on behalf of the country at the United Nations last week. I also thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn, among other Deputies, for expressing support for that position.

I am very conscious that the position I outlined at the UN General Assembly is a national one. As Deputy Ó Fearghaíl indicated, this country has had a long-standing policy of supporting Palestinian statehood. The resolution of the problem in the Middle East will only come about following discussions.

The Quartet statement provides a timetable within which discussions would get under way within a month and then a period within which the issues of borders and security would be addressed, and it sets a definite date by which negotiations should be completed by the end of 2012.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Catherine Ashton, on behalf of the European Union, has been engaged with both sides in seeking to bring that forward. There will be a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union next week and I expect that the issue will be discussed further at that stage.

I intend to visit the Middle East at some stage. I have not yet set exact dates for it but I will co-ordinate with Baroness Ashton about that so that the position of the European Union and its Foreign Ministers can be co-ordinated in the efforts that we make.

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