Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know that it is difficult having everybody ask a series of questions in one go and the Minister of State answer them in one go. It is not the best way to deal with them.

First, in terms of the Golan Heights and any discussions that have taken place regarding the impact on our troops going back out there as a result of the US's unilateral declaration and decision that it has decided that it is in its gift to give Israel the Golan Heights against any precedents in international law, it is an incredible situation. I note the Minister of State at the Department of Defence has said that this does not make any difference to Ireland's troops and it does not change the position in the Middle East but will the Minister of State comment, in more detail, on that because it does change the situation in the Middle East and it has acted already as a destabilising factor? I note the Syrian Government asked today for the UN Security Council to convene a meeting on this legalised illegality the US is attempting. What is the position of the Irish Government in the context of the European response? I put that forward genuinely in the spirit of the points I made earlier that I recognise and was glad to see the very clear statement on behalf of the Tánaiste condemning what the US has done, which clearly stated that what has happened here is a de facto effort to recognise illegality, which cannot be done. Given that the Tánaiste has said that, what will the next step be in terms of trying to change that situation because the US has ratcheted this up a gear?

In that context, my second question relates to the issue of Venezuela and some of the points made by Deputy Wallace. There is a major problem there now, and it is not about scoring points, but the EU made a fundamental mistake in quickly coming out and recognising Juan Guaidó, an individual who has virtually negligible support inside Venezuela and that is a problem. Clearly, in January when the US nominated him the tactic was that there would be a quick coup, he would be imposed, an effort would be made at the border to bring in humanitarian aid, the Venezuelan Government would fall and the US puppet would be put in place. That has not happened. It is now six weeks since then and the situation has moved on and we are in a bit of a stalemate. It is clear he does not have the support but it is also clear that if the current situation is to continue for the Venezuelan people, that it will be unsustainable. We returned from Venezuela the week after the attempts to bring in humanitarian aid. We saw the impact of the some of the economic sanctions, for example, the power cuts and the impact that would have on closing the metro. Workers are stranded on one side of the city who cannot get home because of those power cuts, which are a direct result of the interference. What is the Irish Government's attitude to how we can save face on this? This is not about anybody winning. There needs to be dialogue. The Venezuelan Government has said it wants dialogue. Until very recently there was dialogue. The Spanish Government was talking and the Vatican was talking but has the Minister of State any information on that? The Vatican has now become a point of attack by the US and the Guaidó forces, which are saying that the Vatican is supposed to be a puppet for the Maduro regime, but I do not believe that for a second. What is the Government's attitude towards brokering talks where all the parties would get together and resume talks in the context that the only alternative is hardship and interventionism?

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