John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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74. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 88 of 14 May 2024, to list previous occasions where the State has recognised a new state in circumstances where the recognised governing body of that state does not have de facto governing authority over its entire territory. [23792/24]

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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87. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to list all previous instances where the State has recognised a new state in circumstances where that state had not first been recognised by, and admitted to membership of, the United Nations. [23791/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 87 together.

In international law, the basic characteristics of a State are a governing structure exercising independent and effective control over a human community within a defined territory. However, these are indicative criteria and ultimately the recognition of a State is a political act. For this reason it is not uncommon for a State to be recognised by other States in circumstances where not all of these criteria are clearly or fully satisfied, and a State does not lose recognition should it cease to fulfil one or more of them. For instance, the government of a State under military occupation is unlikely to be able to exercise independent and effective control throughout its territory but a State under occupation does not cease to be one for that reason.

Membership of the United Nations is not a criterion for statehood under international law, and it is not the function of the UN to recognise States. Rather, States are admitted to the UN on request, following a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

Membership of the United Nations has grown from the 51 ‘original Members’ that signed the UN Charter in 1945 to 193 Member States at present. In fact, many States existed, and enjoyed diplomatic relations with other States, long before becoming UN Member States. For example, Switzerland only became a UN Member State in 2002. Indeed Ireland itself only became a member of the UN in 1955.

In the time available it has not been possible to draw up a full and comprehensive list of all States that Ireland has formally recognised since the foundation of our own State. However, in the last 20 years and excluding the recent recognition of the State of Palestine, there are two examples of particular note. Ireland formally recognised Kosovo as a State on 28 February 2008 and South Sudan on 9 July 2011.

In both instances the exact territory of the State was under some dispute, with the effect that the governing authority in each did not have de facto control over all of the territory claimed by it. Neither State had, at the point that Ireland decided formally to recognise it, become a Member State of the UN. Kosovo is still not a UN Member State, despite having diplomatic relations with over half of the UN’s Member States. South Sudan became a UN Member State on 14 July 2011.