Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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47. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will work with the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications to continue the tradition of working against nuclear proliferation and use the upcoming International Atomic Energy Agency general conference to address the issue of Israeli nuclear weapons, which given Israel's history of aggression, are as much a threat to the peace and stability of the region as the Iranian nuclear programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27522/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Nuclear non-proliferation is a key foreign policy priority for Ireland. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is central to global efforts to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation, playing an indispensable role in ensuring that nuclear material is used and held in accordance with the appropriate international safeguards. My Department works closely with the Department for the Environment, Climate and Communications on nuclear safety and radiological issues relevant to the IAEA.

This Government’s position is clear: nuclear weapons offer neither security nor safety, and we must make urgent progress towards a world free of nuclear weapons. We will continue to uphold that position at the upcoming IAEA General Conference. At the Conference, as in other engagements, the Government will call on all states who are not members of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, including Israel, to join as non-nuclear weapons states without delay and without precondition.

We continue to call for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear issue. We strongly support the ongoing work of the IAEA Director General and his staff in seeking to engage with Iran on its nuclear obligations. As a matter of priority, this Government will continue working with partners for progress on a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East, which Ireland has consistently supported, through voluntary arrangements agreed upon by all states in the region. It is crucial that the international community works together to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation.