Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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60. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her diplomatic engagements to date in relation to the Gaza peace plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65875/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Achieving a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to be a priority for Ireland. Ireland welcomes the Comprehensive Plan to end the Gaza conflict announced at the White House on 29 September and affirmed at the Sharm al-Sheikh summit on 13 October. We commend the efforts of the US, as well as Qatar, Türkiye and Egypt, to secure this agreement.

Our focus remains on preserving and solidifying the ceasefire. All parties must adhere to their commitments in full, desist from any actions inconsistent with what has been agreed, and continue to negotiate in good faith to ensure full implementation.

The people of Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering. Despite an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza since the ceasefire, Israeli authorities continue to severely restrict the nature and quantity of aid that is approved to enter. I raised this issue last week in Brussels at the first EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting that I attended as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, where I called on Israel to remove the impediments to entry and distribution of aid and facilitate an immediate scale up of aid access by the UN, including UNRWA.

I also attended the inaugural meeting of the Palestine Donor Group in Brussels alongside the Foreign Affairs Council where I met with the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa and the Palestinian Minister for Finance Estephan Salameh to discuss the precarious fiscal situation of the Palestinian Authority.

Israel continues to take actions that severely hamper the functioning of Palestine’s economy and financial systems. At the meeting, I called on Israel to release the withheld tax revenues of an estimated $3 billion immediately and to adhere to its obligations under the Paris Protocol to ease the liquidity crisis facing the Palestinian Authority. Ireland has provided over €101 million in support to the people of Palestine since 2023.