Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

256. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there are plans to mark Ireland’s 70 years of UN membership later this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27429/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Membership of the United Nations has been at the heart of Ireland’s foreign policy for the past 70 years. Ireland’s foreign policy is rooted in a belief in multilateralism, a commitment to the rules-based international order and adherence to international law.

The 70th anniversary of our UN membership, on 14 December this year, will be a suitable opportunity to reiterate our commitment to the United Nations and the principles and values of the UN Charter.

Ireland joined the UN alongside 15 other Member States in 1955, bringing the total number of members to 76. The original membership of the UN was 51 Member States. An additional 9 Member States joined at various points between 1951 and 1955 but Ireland was part of the first major expansion of the organisation. The Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations in New York is considering how to mark this major expansion, alongside the missions of the other 15 Member States who joined at the same time.

Here at home, my Department is developing a programme of events to mark the commemoration. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of Ireland's UN Youth Delegate Programme, which was set on the 60th anniversary of our membership. Each year, the Youth Delegate Programme sends two young people to represent Ireland at the UN, along with contemporaries from other UN Member States, and to participate in discussions on foreign policy issues. Given Ireland’s prominent role in relation to promoting the voice of youth at the UN, it will be fitting to mark these anniversaries together.