Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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76. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in light of the Hague Group meeting in Colombia, which Ireland attended, and the declaration of 12 countries to end all ties with Israel through the use of their legal and administrative systems, if Ireland is considering making such a commitment; if so, the barriers to doing so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42293/25]

Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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133. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide an update on the Hague Group meeting in Colombia; if Ireland will be committing to implementing the six measures as agreed at the meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43771/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 133 together.

Both I and my officials interact with a wide variety of international partners on the Middle East which remains a major priority for this Government.

As the Deputy is aware, although not a member of the Hague Group, Ireland was represented in an observer capacity at official level at the recent meeting of the Group in Bogota, as were other European countries including Spain, Norway and Slovenia. A total of thirty states attended, twelve of whom endorsed a Joint Statement that issued at the conclusion of the meeting. Ireland was one of eighteen states present that did not endorse the statement. Other attending countries that did not endorse the statement include Spain, Slovenia, Norway, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. Not all members of the Hague Group endorsed the statement.

Ireland remains committed to working with partners around the world to advance the longstanding and principled position which guides our engagement on the Middle East. This includes respect for international law, respect for the equal right to self-determination, peace, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and unwavering support for the two-State solution.

This work is taking place across different international forums. This week, Ireland will play a key role at the rescheduled UN High Level Conference on the Two-State Solution in New York, where we are co-chair of a working group, with Türkiye. The Conference will be an opportunity to bring a renewed sense of urgency to the implementation of the two-State solution as well as the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the urgent need for a ceasefire, release of hostages and humanitarian access at scale into and throughout Gaza.

On 20 May, the EU Foreign Affairs Council agreed to a review of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a step which Ireland and Spain called for in February 2024. That review has now been finalised and it is clear from it that Israel is in breach of its human rights obligations. This is a significant finding. I was clear with my EU counterparts at the June Foreign Affairs Council that there must now be concrete options for follow-up action to this review. Ireland continues to press for appropriate follow-up action at EU level. We have called on the EEAS and the Commission to undertake further work in this regard, including at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in July.

Last month, I joined nine other EU Foreign Ministers in writing to the High Representative calling for the EU to undertake a detailed review of its compliance with the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ. It is essential that the EU abide by its commitments under international law.

Ireland has also been centrally involved in the work of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution which was founded at UN High Level Week last year and has met several times since then.