James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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105. To ask the Taoiseach for an update in relation to his attendance at the Munich security conference. [7954/25]

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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My attendance at the Munich Security Conference provided an important opportunity to discuss our many shared challenges and to set out our perspective on how best to manage them. I attended events with world leaders at the conference, and had a number of bilateral meetings including with Maia Sandu, President of Moldova and Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Ireland is, and will remain militarily neutral, and that is well understood and respected. But this does not remove us from the discussion on how to confront the security risks faced by us all and how we keep ourselves safe, especially from new cyber and hybrid threats. Our position as a militarily neutral country and our long tradition of peacekeeping gives us a particular perspective. I reiterated Ireland’s long-standing support for a robust rules-based international order, and our unambiguous commitment to international law and fundamental human rights.

I also engaged with other Leaders to discuss the most pressing challenges to global security, not least Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.

I re-stated our support for Ukraine and our strong commitment to helping them achieve a just and sustainable peace based on the principles of the UN Charter.

On the situation in Gaza, I also discussed with partners the need to sustain the ceasefire and hostage release agreement and to massively scale up unhindered humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. I also discussed the prospects for a lasting peace settlement, based on a two-state solution, and the need to work with partners in the region.

During my attendance at the Conference, I also met on the margins with executives from Google and the Schwartz group, owners of Lidl. We discussed their presence in Ireland, there future investment plans and the regulatory environment.