Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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126. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade as to whether Ireland supports the right of the Tibetan people to select and appoint their own religious leaders, including the next Dalai Lama; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35609/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The protection and promotion of universal human rights is one of Ireland’s core foreign policy priorities. This includes the right to religious, linguistic and cultural freedom.

The Government regularly raises concerns regarding human rights with China, both in bilateral meetings as well as in the appropriate international fora. I raised Ireland’s long-held concerns about Tibet and other human rights matters when I met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Dublin in February.

In our national Item 4 statement at the March 2025 session of the UN Human Rights Council, Ireland reiterated our concerns regarding the treatment of religious groups in China, including Tibetans. Ireland also joined the EU Statement, which expressed concern about the human rights situation in Tibet and called for China to respect the rights of persons belonging to religious groups to conduct their basic affairs without interference and to freely choose their religious leaders. The issue of freedom of religion and belief was also raised during the most recent EU-China Human Rights Dialogue, held in Brussels on 13 June. The EU noted the particularly vulnerable situation of persons belonging to religious, ethnic and linguistic minorities across China and underlined that the selection of religious leaders should happen without government interference and in accordance with religious norms, including for the succession of the Dalai Lama.

Ireland will continue to address human rights concerns with China, both bilaterally and as a member of the EU, and through the relevant multilateral channels.