Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As far as the Government is concerned, we will seek election to the UN Security Council for the 2021 to 2022 term. We have the support of almost all the Oireachtas in this regard. As a country, we have served on the Security Council in the past. I believe we have made a valuable contribution to the UN and the Security Council and we want to be able to do so again. Part of that is a reflection of our ambition to double Ireland's global footprint and increase our influence around the world. Part of it is also about our commitment to multilateralism, precisely because we believe the greatest challenges and problems which the world faces are best dealt with by countries working together, whether through the UN or the EU. It is linked to our commitment to peacekeeping of which the House is rightly proud.

There is peacekeeping we have done with UN in places like Lebanon but also peace operations in which we have been involved through the European Union. These involved operations in Mali, which I had the opportunity to visit earlier this year, and the Mediterranean Sea, under Operation Sophia, where we have been disrupting human trafficking, people smuggling and rescuing migrants from the sea. Those were EU operations, not UN operations, and I do not consider them a violation of our neutrality. I am proud we have taken part in those missions in the Mediterranean Sea and Mali.

The fact we have increased our budget for international development this year by more than €100 million, striving to reach that target of 0.7% of GNI, speaks to our commitment to international development. We believe the best way to deal with many of the world’s problems is to build capacity, democracy, human rights and economic opportunities in developing countries. We are committed to that and we want to bring that vision and voice to the top table in the world.

It is also because of our commitment to free trade and free enterprise. Nothing has lifted more people out of poverty in the history of the world than free enterprise and free trade. We have seen in China and other Asian countries how hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty through free trade and free enterprise. We want to bring that voice to the top table of the world as well.

We also want to bring our voice and our commitment to human rights and equality to the top table, whether it is equality among the genders or LGBT rights. Ireland has a unique voice and perspective to offer in that regard. That is the backdrop to our decision to seek a seat on the Security Council.

We strongly support the people of Venezuela in their demands for free elections, as well as the restoration of democracy, human rights and freedoms, and economic opportunity. We have listened to the Venezuelan community in Ireland as well. I invite people to do that if they have not done so. There are always differences of opinion but the majority of Venezuelans in Ireland know exactly where they stand on this issue, and we should listen to them as well. In taking the decision to recognise a new interim president of Venezuela, we did so recognising the Venezuelan Constitution allows for an interim president to be elected by the Venezuelan Congress should the directly elected president be deemed illegitimate. We did so not on our own but alongside many other EU countries, including neutral ones, as well as the Lima Group comprising Canada and a large number of Latin American countries.

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