Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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37. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the declaration by President the United States of America that Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Israel; his views on whether Israel’s occupation of east Jerusalem violates numerous international laws; his further views on whether this declaration is reckless and dangerous; and the timeframe for the government to recognise the state of Palestine with east Jerusalem as its capital in view of the motion unanimously passed in Dáil Éireann on 10 December 2014 calling for same. [53148/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to my earlier reply to Priority Question no 28 concerning the United States Government announcement on Jerusalem, and to the statement which I issued on behalf of the Government on 6 December. I will not repeat those again now.

The Government is committed to recognising the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict. Ireland has long looked forward to being able to recognise a sovereign Palestinian state existing in fact and not just in theory.

Ireland normally recognises states that actually exist and control their territory, and so successive Irish Governments have seen recognition of Palestine coming as part of an overall peace agreement.

However, in view of the long-term frustration of that ideal, and in particular in the light of the motions passed by the Dáil and Seanad in 2014, I am also considering whether early recognition now by Ireland of a state of Palestine, in advance of its actual achievement on the ground, could play a helpful part in advancing a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

There are many varied factors bearing on this question. They include the likely impact of such a move on the peace process, the possible value of recognition as a symbolic gesture, the likely impact on other initiatives and perception by other actors, and the likely effect on Ireland’s ongoing influence on the issue. In addition, should I decide to recommend early recognition to the Government, then as an essentially symbolic action the timing of such a move would also be a matter of careful judgment.

I have not yet concluded that immediate recognition by Ireland would be a helpful step, but I keep this matter under continuous review, in the light of the views expressed by the Dáil and the Seanad in 2014. I intend to visit the region again early in the new year, and would expect that this issue will feature in my discussions with the various parties on that occasion.