Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)

On discussions, as I mentioned, the Government has raised this at EU and UN levels, where appropriate. I have also personally discussed it at a political level with senior officials and ministers from the UAE. That happened at a meeting in Dublin a number of months ago, meetings held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and at High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly, and I will be meeting the UAE ambassador in a few hours.

We have made it clear to all parties that we do not believe there should be any breaches of the arms embargo. Any allegations of that have been consistently denied by the UAE, as the Deputy will appreciate. However, the UAE, alongside the USA, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, is a member of the Quad, a group formed with the aim of resolving the conflict and we have encouraged all parties with influence to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and an end to the suffering of civilians. However, substantive political engagement and co-ordination is also needed between the EU, the African Union, the Quad and other international and national actors on de-escalation and mediation efforts.

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