Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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217. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding any action taken to support the Pécs Pride march in Hungary; if the Hungarian government's proposal to ban it has been raised at an EU level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52904/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has consistently advocated for the promotion and protection of the rights of LGBTQI+ people in Hungary and throughout the world. Our concerns in relation to serious Rule of Law backsliding and the targeting of civil society and minority rights in Hungary have been regularly raised, including in direct contacts with our Hungarian interlocutors.

Officials in my Department, including in the Embassy in Budapest, will continue to monitor these worrying developments and to raise our concerns, including in direct engagements with our Hungarian counterparts. We will also continue to support Hungarian civil society organisations working to defend the Rule of Law and protect minority rights in Hungary, including through my Department’s Enlargement and European Fundamental Values fund.

Ireland has continuously demonstrated support for Pride celebrations in Hungary, working locally through our Embassy in Budapest to prepare collective statements with like-minded partners in support of Budapest Pride. In June 2025, we fully supported the "Joint Statement on the occasion of the 30th Budapest Pride Festival" and expressed our support by sending a representative from the Embassy to observe the parade, which passed peacefully under the auspices of the City Council.

Through the Diverse Youth Network Association, we are supporting the Pécs Pride which will take place on 4 October. We are again sending a representative from the Embassy to observe the parade alongside diplomats from like-minded countries. I hope that the parade will be a success where people can march in celebration of LGBTQI+ rights and I expect the police to be judicious in their local response, as they were in Budapest in June.