Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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47. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the proposed timeframe to honour the Government commitment to recognise the state of Palestine. [48265/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have been clear in my engagement with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority of the commitment of this Government to advancing a two-State solution, in line with the agreed parameters for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Programme for Government states that the Government will “Honour our commitment to recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or in advance of that, when we believe doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-State solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory”.

As I have stated previously, in the absence of progress towards a two-State solution, I would be prepared to recommend to the Government early recognition by Ireland of a State of Palestine, if and when it might be helpful, and this is a matter which I discuss with EU colleagues.

Recognition by Ireland outside the context of an overall peace agreement would, however, be likely to affect Ireland’s influence on the Israel-Palestine conflict at EU and international level. Timing and context would affect whether such a loss of influence would be matched by a commensurate benefit for the Palestinian people and a positive impact on the peace process and a two-State solution.