Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Taoiseach that the visit by Vice President Joe Biden and his clan was a great success. Like the Taoiseach and others here, I have met many who have travelled back home to their ancestral home place. It is always emotional and that was very obvious in the way Joe Biden and his family were met, not least in the Taoiseach's county of Mayo. Along with Deputy Munster, I attended the event in Carlingford in County Louth and the farewell luncheon in Farmleigh House. I thank the Taoiseach for the invitation to that event. Vice President Biden was entirely at home in the beautiful Cooley Peninsula, particularly in the lovely village of Carlingford looking out across the lough towards the Mourne Mountains with Slieve Foy at our back.

I am also pleased that the Taoiseach had the opportunity to discuss immigration reform. Vice President Biden is a long-standing supporter of the peace process, so it was good that the Taoiseach was able to talk to him about that as well. I know that Vice President Biden is very conscious of the difficulties faced by the 50,000 undocumented Irish citizens in the US.

The Taoiseach alluded to talking about other international issues. He may know that, unusually, the US Administration has strongly criticised Israeli plans to illegally build hundreds of new homes in existing Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. The US State Department has described this as the latest step in a systematic process of land seizures and the UN Secretary General has said that he is deeply disappointed. Half a million Israeli settlers have been living in more than 100 illegal settlements since the 1967 occupation. Did the Taoiseach raise this issue with Vice President Biden? Clearly, it is a good thing that the US Government is criticising this action. I think our Government can give a lead. The Taoiseach knows about the programme for Government commitment to recognise the state of Palestine and that in 2014, the Oireachtas voted in support of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. Will the Taoiseach consider formally recognising the Palestinian state, upgrading the Palestinian mission and adding this State's support to the political movement needed to re-establish the peace process in the Middle East?

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