Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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87. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his engagement with the European Union and other allies in regard to the peace deal in the Middle East; the role Ireland will play in delivering aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57172/25]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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It feels odd asking a question about a peace plan and a ceasefire when we see continued attacks perpetrated by Israel on Gaza but we are ostensibly in a peace plan space. I met the Palestinian ambassador last week who was looking forward with hope that we can move towards a real and just peace. There is a long road to go but what is Ireland doing now that we have moved to - hopefully - a phase where we can look forward regarding Gaza?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Today, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and I met Tom Fletcher, as did the Taoiseach and, I think, the President. Tom Fletcher is the humanitarian chief of the UN and he has just come back from Gaza. He is literally one of the few people you can speak to who has been on the ground in Gaza. As the Deputy correctly alluded to at the start, the fragility of the ceasefire is very real. It was good to be able to have a conversation with someone in charge of humanitarian aid in the United Nations who is now talking about getting to a point where up to 4,000 trucks per week can get in to Gaza. They are planning, as the Deputy says, to get that flood of aid going, which is some reason for encouragement and hope after such a bleak, horrific humanitarian crisis, a genocide and a famine. I welcome the ceasefire and the hostage release agreement, which is a significant moment of hope. I welcome the release of living hostages and that the process to return the remains of those who were killed has begun. In this first phase, preserving the ceasefire agreement and ensuring humanitarian aid enters Gaza at scale is a central focus of all of my engagement with international counterparts, including EU colleagues yesterday at the Foreign Affairs Council.

The Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid has resulted in famine and untold horror for people in Gaza. Ireland stands ready to assist in every practical way to achieve long term and sustainable peace and to alleviate human suffering. Last week, I announced an additional humanitarian package of €6 million for Palestine. This contribution brings Ireland’s support for the people of Palestine since October 2023 to more than €95 million and support in 2025 to over €35 million. The funding allocated last week provides money for the likes of UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organisation. This is an important and practical way in which we can help.

At EU level, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President Kaya Kallas, has been clear that the peace plan requires strong international backing to succeed and that the EU stands ready to do its part. The situation in Gaza and in the West Bank is being discussed at every level, and was at the centre of discussions at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg yesterday. In my intervention at the meeting, I called for the EU to support the flooding of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Ireland will also continue its diplomatic efforts, stressing that the two-state solution must be at the centre of any sustainable peace deal.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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What pressure are we able to exert on our European allies and on Israel to ensure that UNRWA can get back up and running as best it can? In fairness, we in Ireland tried to continue to fund UNRWA over the last couple of years when others were pulling back and bowing to Israeli pressure. In calmer times, Ireland has been able to assist and help deliver structural aid in Gaza, such as a solar farm, wastewater treatment plants and desalination plants. We are still at a point where we are hoping to get trucks in to deliver proper emergency aid. Does Ireland stand ready to be able to assist in the more structural, medium- to long-term peace as we have in the past?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Yes, is the short and blunt answer. The Deputy has probably heard in recent days that there are now plans for a reconstruction conference on Gaza. This is likely to be in Cairo next month. We need to see where the invitations go but Ireland will certainly be represented there at a senior level. There will be an opportunity for Ireland, along with other international partners, to see what more we can do. The Deputy is entirely correct that the immediate focus is flooding Gaza with humanitarian aid. In a practical sense that meant 750 tents from Ireland being sent to Gaza. When we spoke to Tom Fletcher today that was a specific reference to a practical support from the Irish people last week. It is a question of how we get into that space of working in, as the Deputy says, an area that we are usually pretty good in and where we have a good track record. Yesterday, at the Foreign Affairs Council I raised the issue of UNRWA. We also discussed it today with the UN representative. I was very pleased that at the European Union level yesterday, talking about the primacy of the UN agencies in terms of humanitarian aid was a clear focus. The alternative that was put in place was a real disaster.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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The US Vice President has been in Israel and has been talking about this peace plan albeit 153 tonnes of bombs were dropped by Israel on Gaza yesterday. The US Vice President spoke about a stabilisation force and a peace force. We have a proud tradition in that region of peacekeeping. However, given what we are debating in the coming weeks and months in terms of the triple lock and the future of our peacekeeping - I am conscious that we are very early - have there been discussions in relation to peacekeeping? I have huge concerns regarding how this is fermenting, at a structural level being led by the US. It is important that we ask the question here because we have two really proud pillars of Irish foreign policy, namely, development aid and peacekeeping, both of which will be at play here. Will the Tánaiste make a comment on peacekeeping?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The European Union welcomes the peace plan. It is imperfect, as all peace plans are. We also have to be very honest that there is a lot of high-level detail in the peace plan. As phase two commences and we begin to flesh out what some of these things look like and how they operate it is going to be a real challenge. Yes, we have got to keep the pressure on Israel 100%, and we also have got to keep the pressure on Hamas. We have watched the public executions carried out by Hamas on innocent Palestinian people. Hamas has no future for the people of Palestine. It is certainly not part of the fabric of the people of Palestine and we need to be very clear on this. Neither I nor the Government have been part of any conversations on an international stabilisation force. Of course, we would be willing to have such a conversation but my initial reaction would be in line with the Deputy's. I remain to be convinced that Ireland could play a constructive role in any such force at this moment.