Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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7. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she has engaged, or plans to engage, with the UK authorities regarding the treatment and prosecution of members of Palestine Action and those who have expressed solidarity with the group; if she will raise concerns about the protection of the rights to peaceful protest, fair trial and humane conditions of detention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66238/25]

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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Has the Minister, her immediate predecessor or anyone in her Department engaged with the UK authorities regarding the Palestine Action group, which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK Government in July? The group was blacklisted for instigating a number of direct action protests against weapons manufacturers involved in selling arms to Israel in the context of its campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza against the civilian population there since October 2023.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Ireland maintains regular and constructive dialogue with UK authorities at all levels on a wide range of matters. In the last week, I have engaged with my UK counterpart since taking up office and I look forward to meeting with the UK's Foreign Secretary, Ms Yvette Cooper, shortly to take forward our co-operation on a range of foreign policy issues.

An important area of engagement between the UK and Ireland is on Middle East policy, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I particularly welcome the British Government's decision in September to formally recognise the State of Palestine and its active engagement in the 20-point peace plan to end the conflict in Gaza, which was endorsed by the UN Security Council on 17 November.

I welcome the ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza as an important step on the road to peace. Our focus is now on preserving the ceasefire and ensuring that humanitarian aid flows into and throughout Gaza. Ireland has been clear that all parties must adhere to their commitments in full, desist from any actions inconsistent with what has been agreed and continue to negotiate in good faith to ensure full implementation.

In respect of the British Government's decision to designate Palestinian Action as a terrorist organisation under its Terrorism Act, I understand that this decision is subject to judicial review and is currently before the High Court in London. The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot comment on a live case that is before the British courts, in the same way that I would not comment on something that is before the Irish courts. More broadly, though, the Government remains committed to upholding human rights, including those pertaining to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful protest, both domestically and internationally. These fundamental rights are enshrined in international human rights instruments to which both Ireland and the United Kingdom are signatories. These are issues that would regularly be discussed as part of overall political dialogue between Ireland and all of its partners, including the UK.

My Department will continue to monitor developments in this area, including in respect of any cases involving Irish citizens. The provision of consular assistance to Irish citizens is an important element of the work of my Department. Consular assistance is provided in a strictly confidential manner and, as with all cases, my Department does not comment on the details of individual cases. That said, we are there to support any Irish citizens.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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The UK Government has, in an Orwellian inversion of truth, conflated protest against genocide with terrorism through its proscription of the Palestine Action group, placing it, absurdly, on the same blacklist as organisations such as al-Qaeda and ISIS. Since the Palestine Action group has been designated a terrorist organisation, at least 2,300 people have been arrested according to the group Defend Our Juries, and a large proportion of these arrests took place at peaceful, sit-in protests in public areas across August and September of this year. Those arrested have included young students, teachers, pensioners and even an 83-year-old retired vicar.

The United Nations human rights chief, Mr. Volker Türk, said that the UK Government’s designation is “disturbing” and “disproportionate and unnecessary”, while the Council of Europe, Europe’s human rights watchdog, criticised the “excessive limits” it places on the right to protest. Does the Minister plan to raise the protection of the right to protest when she next engages with her UK counterpart?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Again, as I said already, as this is before the courts, I will not specifically reference what the Deputy has outlined. What I will do is restate and emphasise Ireland's absolute support for and commitment to a person's right to peacefully protest, which is extremely important. We also place a very strong emphasis on making sure that any Irish citizens abroad who find themselves in difficulty, whether relating to something like this or otherwise, would have consular assistance. Again, I stress that if any citizens need that assistance, it is there and available to them. Of course, in my engagement with Ms Yvette Cooper or anyone else in the UK Government, I will stress that this is an area that Ireland is very clear and very strong on. Individuals have a right to peaceful protest on matters that are concerning to them. Obviously, where that crosses the line and there is violence and use of force, we move into a different space, but we uphold every individual's international right to peaceful protest. That is certainly something that I can and will raise with my counterpart when I meet her, hopefully in the weeks ahead.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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The acclaimed and best-selling Irish author, Sally Rooney, was unable to collect her recent Sky Arts award for literature in person as she did not feel safe entering the UK due to the risk of arrest for her public support of Palestine Action. She has even had to cancel all future public engagements in the UK and has expressed concerns that because of her intention to support Palestine Action financially, the availability of her books in the UK could be affected. One of the leading Irish authors of our time does not now feel she can enter the UK because of her support for a group protesting genocide. This is just one example of how the UK’s designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation begins to seep into every corner of society and constrains the right of Irish citizens as well as British citizens to speak the truth at this darkest time in our history.

What meaningful engagement does the Minister plan to have with her UK counterpart about the UK Government's treatment and prosecution of members of Palestine Action? Will the Minister push for the UK Government to end its designation of the group as a terror organisation?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Again, as this is currently before the courts, it is not an issue I can raise with my UK counterpart or discuss here today. What I can and will say to my colleague when we meet is that there is an absolutely necessity to uphold the individual's right to peaceful protest. This is something that we cherish in this country. More broadly, in terms of our support for Palestine, there has been unanimous support for the need to reach a ceasefire. I very much welcome the ceasefire that has been reached, albeit that it is very fragile and difficult. I also very much welcome the fact that hostages have been released and that humanitarian aid has started to flow into Gaza, albeit, again, not at the level that it needs to be. We need to make sure that every single one of our actions now cements and upholds the ceasefire that is currently in place. I have no doubt that citizens in Ireland will continue to raise their voices, to make sure their concerns are heard and to work collectively continue to do everything we can to ensure that the ceasefire holds. For any citizens of Ireland in the UK or anywhere else who need consular assistance, it is there and available to them. We need to make sure that as a country we reiterate and stress every individual's human right to peaceful protest and that is certainly something I will do with my UK colleague.