Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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23. To ask the Taoiseach to report on his visit to the United States and his meeting with President Biden. [41379/24]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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24. To ask the Taoiseach to report on his visit to the United States and his meeting with President Biden. [41382/24]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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25. To ask the Taoiseach to report on any recent discussions he has had with other world leaders in connection with the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. [41444/24]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 to 25, inclusive, together.

I visited Washington D.C. earlier this month to mark 100 years of diplomatic relations between Ireland and the United States. This is an especially important landmark, as the United States was the first international partner to recognise the fledgling Irish State.

My planned programme included a meeting at the White House and a reception to mark the anniversary, as well as a number of other engagements including a meeting with USAID Administrator, Samantha Power, an address at Georgetown University to mark 100 years, an economic engagement with the US Chamber of Commerce, and a number of political and related meetings.

Unfortunately, the reception in the White House had to be cancelled as the President was naturally and rightly focussed on the immediate risk to a number of States posed by Hurricane Milton. My meeting with the President, however, went ahead as planned, as did other elements of my programme.

Our meeting was substantial, and our discussion focussed on the strong connections between our two countries, and the continuing importance of the relationship.

We discussed developments in Northern Ireland, and I thanked the President for his strong personal commitment to the peace process throughout his career.

I raised the issue of the undocumented Irish in the United States, which is a priority for our Embassy in Washington.

On international issues we discussed the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.

We agreed the need to continue to support Ukraine until a just and lasting peace, based on the principles of the United Nations Charter, can be secured.

On the Middle East, and especially the desperate situation in Gaza, I conveyed to the President the strong views of the Irish people and Government, and the need to see an immediate end to the indiscriminate death and destruction. I expressed to him my view that while Israel has the right to self-defence, it must always exercise it in keeping with international law.

What we have seen in the past year has not been proportionate, has not provided adequate protection for civilians, and has not allowed adequate access for humanitarian assistance and for humanitarian workers. Civilian deaths, especially among children, have been indefensibly high, and a whole generation has been traumatised in a way with will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

I thanked the President for his efforts and those of his Administration to bring about a ceasefire that can facilitate the return of hostages and the surging of aid into Gaza.

We also discussed the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the urgent need for a ceasefire to protect the civilian population.

I expressed my concern about the safety of our UN peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL, especially given the unprecedented attacks by Israel on UNIFIL installations. The President shared my concern in that regard.

I have also had a number of recent engagements with world Leaders, including during my attendance at the United Nations High-Level week in New York last month.

The situation in the Middle East was a particular focus of my visit, and I had meetings with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas; King Abdullah II of Jordan; and the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres.

I have also spoken to the Secretary General in the period since to express my concern about the situation in Lebanon and our support for UNIFIL and for the operations of the United Nations and its agencies in the wider region.

I spoke by phone to the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, on 1 October to hear directly from him about the worsening situation on the ground and to ask how Ireland can be of assistance in ending the conflict.

I spoke with President Herzog of Israel on 14 October to convey our condolences to the Israeli people on the anniversary of 7 October and to raise with him directly our concerns about the situation in Gaza and in Lebanon, including the need to respect the role and mandate of peacekeepers at all times.

The situation in the Middle East was also discussed at the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit held in Brussels on 16 October, which also considered bilateral relations between the two regions.

It was also discussed at the meeting of the European Council on 17 October.

I took the opportunity to exchange views with Prime Minister Meloni of Italy and Prime Minister Sanchez of Spain, who have also a large number of troops deployed with UNIFIL.

The European Council condemned in the strongest terms the unacceptable attacks by the Israeli Defence Forces against UNIFIL which must stop immediately.

The European Council again called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a hostage deal and a surge in unhindered humanitarian assistance. It also called for a ceasefire in Lebanon and for all sides to respect UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

I reiterated the need to use all levers at our disposal to bring about this, repeating my call for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement which has only become more pressing in light of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of July on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories.

Finally, I was pleased to meet with the President of Vietnam, Tȏ Lȃm, on 3 October during his State Visit to Ireland. We discussed the enormous potential to strengthen relations between our countries and we oversaw signature of a Strategic Partnership on Higher Education by Minister O’Donovan and his Vietnamese counterpart. We also discussed international issues including Ukraine and the Middle East.