Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy on many things in respect of Ireland's role in the world and being a voice advocating for human rights, peace and peacekeeping. We do advocate for all of those things. These are some of the reasons we fought so hard for a place on the UN Security Council, beginning 1 January. The priorities we have set for our term on the Security Council are built around peace, peacekeeping and holding countries to account for their actions under international law. That is what we campaigned on and that is why we got significant support from UN member states, particularly small countries and countries that have been impacted by conflict. Many such countries trust Ireland to be a voice to which they can speak, knowing that they will be listened to. They see us as a country that will advocate for their concerns. That is not in question. I do not extend that argument, as the Deputy does, to suggest that having these objectives requires us to stop facilitating something that has been in place for more than five decades. We are talking about a country with which we want to work to advance our principles and policies internationally.

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