Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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2. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason the Irish delegation did not join the many delegations that walked out during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the UN General Assembly on 27 September in protest at Israel’s genocide in Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40782/24]

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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On 27 September Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech at the UN. Many delegates left when he spoke. Why did the Irish delegation not join the many people who refused to listen to a warmonger like Netanyahu?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. Ireland's membership of the United Nations is at the heart of our foreign policy. We take seriously our obligation to translate the values and principles of the UN Charter into action. Ireland has had a long-standing policy of engagement throughout the entirety of the opening of the General Assembly of the United Nations. In practice, this means our seat is occupied for each day of the high-level general debate and for every country's national statement. This demonstrates our commitment to diplomatic engagement and the importance of the United Nations as an institution. This sometimes means listening to viewpoints with which we disagree or where we have a fundamentally different perspective. This is part of the conduct of international relations and our diplomacy at the United Nations. Ireland expresses its views clearly in our statements and in the use of our vote at the United Nations. This has been the consistent policy of previous governments and one that I fully support.

The urgent need to address the conflict in the Middle East remains a priority for Ireland in our work at the UN. This includes ongoing support for efforts to achieve a ceasefire and hostage release deal and ensure the supply of humanitarian assistance at scale in Gaza, as well as our efforts to advance the two-state solution. We are also advocating for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and the war there and a de-escalation of tensions across the entire region. I made those points very clearly in my address to the UN Security Council on 25 September. These points were further set out in Ireland's national statement in the UN General Assembly on 30 September.

Fundamentally, if we were to adopt the assertion or the policy the Deputy is suggesting, we would maybe be leaving our seat on more than one occasion. We might be leaving our seat on quite a number of occasions. The policy has been to listen, to argue and debate. Listening does not imply in any way an endorsement of anyone's policies.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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These are abnormal times. Cordiality and protocol should go out the door. If the Tánaiste had been there when this warmonger was speaking, would he have listened or would he have left? Many people from across the world, particularly the developing world, left because they did not want to listen to this man who has killed more than 40,000 people in Gaza, including 21,000 children. If there ever was a situation in the world where people take a principled stand and say, “We do not want to give this man a platform or listen to him”, it was then. We have to go well beyond words in respect of this abnormal state and this warmonger. Again I say to the Tánaiste, when will this Government go beyond words?

I understand Ireland has been a little bit better than most European countries in terms of standing up to what is going on, but we can be much better in terms of going beyond words.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We have gone beyond words. I regret the Deputy does not have the generosity or the objectivity-----

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I acknowledged it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy said "a little bit". Come off it. I do not agree with him and I have to disagree fundamentally with him.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I will not acknowledge it again. I will not be so kind again.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland has taken action in respect of the entire situation in the Middle East, not least the recognition of the State of Palestine, with Spain. We have called for a review of the association agreement, with Spain. We led the way in terms of our participation in the international courts, supported the ICJ advisory opinion in calling for it to be deliberated in the first instance, and also in terms of voting for the resolution after the ICJ advisory opinion, and much more.

What I find striking is that the Deputy never put down a question asking whether anybody walked out when foreign minister Lavrov spoke on behalf of Russia at the UN.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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They should have done so.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy did not put down a question.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Tánaiste has been very inconsistent. We have called for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador and the Israeli ambassador. Both of them should be expelled for the war crimes they are committing. The Tánaiste needs to go beyond words. One of the things we have been calling for is enactment of the occupied territories Bill. Can the Tánaiste imagine if the Government had done that? It is a very limited move against the Zionist state but can he imagine the signal that would send to the European Union and the world, that Ireland, a small country, is standing up against the Zionist state that is enacting terrible war crimes against the people of Palestine? Why can the Government not do that? I do not believe that there is legal advice out there saying it cannot do it. Of course it can do it, but it takes guts and guile to do it. The Government will not do it because it is afraid of the blowback from the United States. Essentially, that is what it is. The Government should have principle and guile and say it is going to stand up and have sanctions against the Israeli state.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will deal with the occupied territories Bill. There is a question down later in respect of that.

I believe in diplomacy and diplomatic channels. That has to be maintained. The Deputy does not, because he has already said-----

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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How could you have diplomatic relations with a murderer?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I did not interrupt the Deputy. Can I have the floor, please? We could walk out for the speeches of ten ambassadors or permanent representatives at the UN because there are many countries whose policies we do not endorse. If everybody was to adopt a policy of walking out on one other's speeches, however, we would not have the UN General Assembly. With all its faults and flaws, the UN is, at least, the last bastion we have for the multilateral order. It is the only place where nearly every country in the world comes together at least to develop a dialogue and an exchange of communications. That is the essence of diplomacy. That is important.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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But Israel will not even allow the UN Secretary-General into its country.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That involves many other conflicts, such as the Sudan crisis. There is the Russian war against Ukraine. There is the breach of human rights in many countries across the world. We could be walking out every second. Our permanent representative could be up and down like a-----

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That is trivialising what I said.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is the reality. I am not trivialising it.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Tánaiste does this to everybody. Every single time, he tries to trivialise what we are trying to say.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are terrible wars going on at the moment in the world, which is shocking, and which we condemn, by the way.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Deputies. We are moving on and we are going to listen to one other.