Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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111. To ask the Taoiseach the main policy achievements of his Department since 27 June 2020. [27970/24]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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112. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the main policy achievements of his Department since 27 June 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27962/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Over the past four years, my Department has achieved much progress across a number of policy areas, framed by our commitments under the Programme for Government and the Department’s Statement of Strategy.

Delivery of services to Irish citizens has remained central to our work. Following disruptions in the first year of the pandemic, the Passport Service began scaling up towards normal operations in May 2021 and has been delivering close to one million passports per year since 2022. This was made possible by technological and organisational innovation and, above all, by the hard work of the staff in all our passport offices.

The COVID pandemic also necessitated the most extensive repatriation operation in the history of the State. My Department helped over 8,000 citizens to return from 129 countries across five continents while simultaneously contributing to the overall Government response to the pandemic.

Moreover, as we emerged from the pandemic, my Department has had to contend with an increasingly difficult geopolitical context with Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine, crises in Afghanistan and Sudan, and the on-going conflicts in the Middle East imposing significant demands on my Department and its staff in Ireland and around the world.

We assisted Irish citizens and their accompanying dependents to leave both Ukraine and Russia as Russia launched a full-scale invasion. We have continued to provide substantial and multifaceted political, security, financial and diplomatic support to Ukraine, supported the strongest sanctions against Russia, continually engaged with international partners and institutions to ensure accountability, and worked to ensure the highest possible participation and engagement at the Peace Summit in Switzerland earlier this month.

My Department has led long-standing engagement by the government on the conflicts in the Middle East and since 7th October 2023, we have assisted the evacuation of Irish citizens and their dependents, supported international efforts to achieve a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and to ensure humanitarian access. Throughout the conflict, I have unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism. I have also made consistently clear that the protection of civilians must be paramount.

Moreover, in May of this year the Government, alongside Spain and Norway, formally recognised the State of Palestine as a sovereign and independent state and established full diplomatic relations. It was a historic moment for Ireland and a clear and immutable statement of our deeply-held belief that there can be no peace in the Middle East until the Israeli and Palestinian peoples alike enjoy the same rights to self-determination, statehood, peace, security and dignity.

Peace and reconciliation on our island has been a central priority throughout this period. A particular achievement of my Department since 2020 was the successful navigation of the challenge of Brexit, ensuring that our key objectives were met both in relation to Northern Ireland and the overall EU-UK trade and cooperation arrangements. In February 2023, the EU and UK reached agreement on the Windsor Framework. Since then we have supported the implementation of the framework arrangements, which brought predictability and stability for business and traders across the island, underpinning the all-island economy. My Department also supported Irish traders and businesses to successfully prepare for and transition to new UK import controls introduced in 2024, running communications campaigns and stakeholders engagements.

2023 also saw the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and we marked this significant milestone both at home and abroad. In February of this year, we saw the successful re-establishment of the Northern Ireland institutions.

In April 2023, my Department also played a leading role in supporting the visit of President Biden to Belfast, Dublin, Mayo and Louth. It was a significant moment in the bilateral relationship and provided the Government with a unique opportunity to discuss our mutually beneficial economic relationship and our shared commitment to building peace and prosperity on the island of Ireland, through the Good Friday Agreement.

Deepening our EU relationships and our influence at EU level has also been a central focus of my Department during this period. Relations with France and Germany have been strengthened through implementation of successful Joint Plans of Action with both countries as well as State Visits to Ireland by Presidents Macron and Steinmeier in 2021. The Programme for Government made a particular commitment to marking 50 years of Irish membership of the EU and I was delighted through 2022 and 2023 to lead on a “EU50” programme of national and international engagements marking this historic anniversary. Moreover, as we look ahead, my Department has initiated preparatory work in consultation with the Department of the Taoiseach, to ensure Ireland delivers a successful EU Presidency in 2026.

In 2022, Ireland held the Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. Our Presidency delivered many significant achievements, most notably securing agreement across the 46 Member States to convene just the fourth Summit in the Council’s 74-year history, held in Reykjavik in May 2023.

During this period Ireland served as an elected member of the UN Security Council for the fourth time in its history, where we were active across the whole Council agenda. We successfully co-led on negotiations to twice extend the mandate of the lifesaving UN cross-border humanitarian operation into Syria; led on negotiations to successfully renew Operation Althea in Bosnia-Herzegovina; championed human rights in Afghanistan - particularly for women and girls; and led efforts to bring the conflict and dire humanitarian situation in Ethiopia to the attention of the Council. Ireland tabled (in conjunction with Niger) a Climate and Security resolution garnering support from 113 member states . We successfully negotiated a landmark Resolution on peacekeeping transitions and were also a co-penholder for a resolution carving out a broad humanitarian exemption for UN Sanctions in December 2022.

Our commitment to climate action, gender equality, and the reduction of poverty, hunger and humanitarian need as outlined in A Better World has remained constant with Ireland delivering record amounts of Official Development Assistance during the period in question. The budget allocation for 2024, of €775.3 million, is the highest ever allocation by Government, and coincides with the 50th anniversary year of the establishment of the Irish Aid programme. Moreover, in the face of escalating humanitarian needs, Ireland’s funding for humanitarian response has increased steadily in recent years and Ireland is recognised as a strong, principled donor, whose assistance is provided based on the humanitarian principles of independence, neutrality, impartiality and humanity.

With respect to global food security and the energy crisis, my Department worked closely with Áras an Uachtaráin in support of President Higgins' important addresses to the Africa Food summit in Dakar in January 2023 and the World Food Forum in Rome in October 2023. This supported and reinforced Ireland’s financial and policy commitments on food and nutrition made at the UN Food Systems Summit and Nutrition for Growth Summit in 2021. This led to a renewed and expanded collaboration with USAID on food and nutrition security including a pledge of €50 million to combat child wasting and €75 million in support to climate resilient agriculture at country level in Africa.

We have also strengthened our engagement on Global Health, in particular with the World Health Organisation, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and continue to support Gavi the Vaccine Alliance.

In 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs led on a cross-governmental process to formulate Ireland’s International Climate Finance Roadmap. The Roadmap sets out how Ireland will deliver on the target of providing at least €225 million per year in international climate finance by 2025, and we are on track to meet this target. Ireland has also prioritised Loss and Damage in our climate diplomacy in recent years, and we were influential in securing a historic agreement on a new Fund for Loss and Damage and in ensuring that this fund will prioritise the most vulnerable countries.

Throughout this period, my Department has led in a number of other international negotiations. In November 2022, we hosted a high-level international conference for the Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA), on strengthening the protection of civilians from the consequences of the use of explosives in populated areas. In June 2023, my Department played an active role in the adoption of the UN Agreement on Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). In September 2023, Ireland served as co-facilitator of negotiations and secured agreement on the Political Declaration for the Sustainable Development Goals Summit. We also led on several other high level conferences over the period, such as the Global Diaspora Summit in April 2022 and the European Congress on Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in November 2022.

In partnership with the Department of Defence, my Department played a key role convening the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy. The Forum focused on a wide range of issues, including Ireland’s efforts to protect the rules-based international order through peacekeeping and crisis management, disarmament and non-proliferation, international humanitarian law, and conflict prevention and peacebuilding as well as allowing for a discussion on Ireland’s policy of military neutrality.

My Department continues to implement the Government’s Diaspora Strategy 2020-2025 and to support Irish communities abroad through the Emigrant Support Programme (ESP). Since 2004 more than 850 organisations in 51 countries have been assisted with total grants of more than €237 million. In 2023 we also hosted the third Global Irish Civic Forum, a gathering of Irish community representatives from all over the world. Topics discussed included support for Irish communities abroad, particularly for the most vulnerable, promotion of Irish cultural heritage and sport, network building, and reaching the next generations of the diaspora.

Under Global Ireland 2025, key strategies were launched throughout the period, framing our future engagement with Africa, the US and Canada, alongside strategies for the Asia-Pacific, Nordic, Latin American and Caribbean regions, as well as Small Island Developing States and our Diaspora. A new strategy for Middle East & North Africa is currently being developed.

Since 2020, under the Global Ireland commitments to double our impact by 2025, we have opened 9 new missions. These include new Embassies in Rabat, Manila, Kyiv, Dakar and Tehran and new Consulates General in Manchester, Lyon, Toronto and Miami bringing to 19 the number of new missions opened under the strategy. In 2024 we will open a new Embassy in Islamabad and new Consulates General in Milan and Munich. The Government has also approved the opening of a further 5 new missions in Belgrade, Sarajevo, Chisinau, Malága and Melbourne.

My Department led an all-of-Government approach to Ireland’s presence at Expo 2020 in Dubai, promoting Irish business and investment opportunities in the UAE and beyond. We had over 350,000 visitors to our pavilion in Dubai, and preparations for Expo 2025 in Osaka are underway.

Working together as Team Ireland at home and overseas is also at the heart of the Global Ireland Strategy. Guided by the Government's Trade and Investment Strategy 2022-2026: Value for Ireland, Values for the World, our missions work with our Team Ireland partners in delivering our trade, investment, education, tourism and research priorities. We have also delivered a programme of innovative cultural and public diplomacy initiatives under Global Ireland, including the appointment of specialist Cultural Attachés in priority locations worldwide.

Finally, further to my appointment in December 2022, I was pleased to launch a new Departmental Statement of Strategy in early 2023 to guide the work of the Department of Foreign Affairs during this period. It recognised the current changed and challenging global context and the many complex challenges that Ireland is facing. In tandem, the commitment to improve capacity and capability within my Department continues and is guided by a new HR strategy which is driving implementation of a range of policies to support our staff, including a new Learning and Development Framework, a Gender, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan, and a Blended Working Policy for HQ and Abroad - all of which sit within the framework of the DFA Human Resources Strategy 2023 - 2027.

My Department has continued to deliver on behalf of Irish citizens at home and abroad during an intense and challenging period. I would also refer you the Department’s annual reports, which provide a comprehensive overview of our work.

Over the past four years, my Department has achieved much progress in a number of policy areas, framed by our commitments under the Programme for Government, and the Department’s Statement of Strategy.