Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
242. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to comments made at an event (details supplied), if there has been any further correspondence from the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism addressing this matter since last year. [9001/26]
View answerMy Department has not received any correspondence from the Special Rapporteur on Racism at the United Nations on this matter in the past year. I am aware of the Report of the former Special Rapporteur, E. Tendayi Achiume, in 2022 on contemporary forms of racism.
Ireland has been a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) since 2011. Since the adoption of the non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism by the IHRA plenary in 2016, my Department has kept the question of our endorsement of the organization’s working definition of antisemitism under review, including with regard to adoption of the definition by other EU Member States.
The European Commission Strategy on Combatting Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life (2021-2030) calls on Member States to adopt and use the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. A series of EU Council Conclusions and Declarations have also encouraged use of the IHRA definition by EU Member States as a tool to counter antisemitism. Most recently, the October 2024 EU Council Declaration on Fostering Jewish Life and Combatting Antisemitism, which Ireland was a strong proponent of, again invited EU Member States to use the IHRA definition as useful guidance for education and training purposes.
The decision to endorse the IHRA definition of antisemitism followed detailed consideration within the Department of Foreign Affairs, and consultation with other relevant Departments. Ireland’s endorsement was announced by then Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, on 16th January 2025, ahead of the significant 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The decision to endorse the definition was taken following careful consideration, including of alternative definitions, in the context of Ireland’s longstanding commitment to supporting freedom of religion or belief, equality and non-discrimination, and against the background of a well-documented global rise in antisemitism.
The adoption of the definition was supported by the EU, the European Commission, the IHRA, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, and the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. While the views of these institutions are important, the views of Ireland’s Jewish communities were also a key factor in reaching a decision to endorse the definition.
