Written Answers Nos. 1-9
1. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her Department's position on the accession of Armenia to the European Union following recent national elections; the way in which she will work to advance Armenia's accession during the EU Presidency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46052/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 7 June, the Armenian people exercised their sovereign democratic right to vote in parliamentary elections. The level of civic participation was commendably high and demonstrated Armenia’s strong commitment to democracy, peace, and enhanced cooperation in the region as well as closer ties with the EU.
Ireland welcomes the strengthening relationship between the EU and Armenia.
The EU stands firmly with Armenia and its people and remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting Armenia on its democratic path and to further deepening our partnership.
On 5 May, the EU and Armenia held their first ever summit. The Joint Declaration which was issued following that meeting acknowledged the European aspirations of the Armenian people, rooted in the adoption of the Law on Launching Armenia’s EU accession process of March 2025. The Joint Declaration also states that any decision on EU membership is a matter for the people of Armenia to decide freely and democratically.
Ireland also welcomes the growing EU-Armenia cooperation as outlined in the Joint Declaration, which focusses on connectivity and support for energy, transport and digital infrastructure. The EU-Armenia Connectivity Partnership, which was signed on 5 May in Yerevan, underlines Armenia’s role as a vital partner in the ‘middle corridor’ connectivity project through the South Caucasus. These agreements serve as a building block to further strengthen EU-Armenia relations.
The Treaty on the European Union states that any European country may apply for EU membership if it respects the democratic values of the EU and is committed to promoting them. Ireland believes that all European countries deserve the opportunity to join the EU, once they meet all necessary criteria. All candidate and potential candidate countries are currently required to abide by the accession criteria known as the "Copenhagen criteria" and are required to align with EU standards across all negotiating chapters.
Ireland and Armenia have strong bilateral relations, and we work together in the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. In May, the Taoiseach visited Yerevan to attend the eighth European Political Community Summit. We look forward to further engagement and cooperation between the EU and Armenia, including under our EU Presidency.
2. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of Irish citizens who have sought assistance from the Irish Embassy in New Zealand in each of the years 2023 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form. [46067/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has a long and proud track record of providing high quality consular assistance to Irish citizens abroad. Ensuring our citizens receive timely and empathetic support from our Embassies and Consulates worldwide is a priority for me in my role as Minister.
Consular assistance was provided in 33 cases by our Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand since 1 January 2023. The numbers of cases recorded, arranged by year, is outlined below.
|
Year |
Cases |
|
2023 |
9 |
|
2024 |
10 |
|
2025 |
11 |
|
2026 to date |
3 |
|
Total |
33 |
In addition to these cases, our Embassy in Wellington provides regular consular and citizen services in New Zealand on a daily basis, including in relation to passport applications, Foreign Births Registration, and other general queries.
3. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of children's passports that were issued in each of the first five months of 2026. [46068/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Passport Service is meeting high demand for passports and has issued over 460,000 passports to date in 2026.
Please see below a table outlining the numbers of passports issued to minors in each of the first five months of 2026.
|
Month |
Number of minor passports issued |
|
Jan-26 |
9,847 |
|
Feb-26 |
12,250 |
|
Mar-26 |
17,955 |
|
Apr-26 |
18,659 |
|
May-26 |
24,641 |
4. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of times she has been lobbied by Israeli and American companies in relation to legislation to ban trade with the occupied territories; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46103/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has engaged with a wide range of interlocutors to ensure that Ireland’s foreign policy, including on the issue of Israeli settlements, is well known and understood.
We value these contributions as part of a robust and inclusive debate. The Government’s position and, indeed, that of the EU is clear: settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the realisation of a two-state solution.
At a national level, the Government approved the text of the Israeli Settlements (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026 on 26 May, and the Bill was introduced in Dáil Éireann on 10 June.
The Bill fulfils the commitment set out in the Programme for Government to progress legislation to prohibit the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Bill will positively contribute towards Ireland’s compliance with its international legal obligations as identified in the 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion, including the obligation on states to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in maintaining the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory.
While Ireland is moving ahead at national level, the Government remains clear that collective action at EU level is the strongest and most effective route. Ireland is actively pursuing that collective approach at EU level.
5. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the concrete priorities Ireland will pursue during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2026 to support the protection of Palestinian civilians, uphold international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and advance a just and durable political solution for the Palestinian people; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46126/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra6. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether Ireland will use its forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union to seek agreement among Member States on further EU measures in response to the situation in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territory, including measures relating to humanitarian access, accountability for violations of international law, illegal settlement activity, settler violence, and the EU-Israel Association Agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46127/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 6 together.
Given our own history of conflict and peacebuilding at home, Ireland has a longstanding commitment to a just, sustainable and lasting peace in the Middle East. This will frame our response to crises the Middle East, as in other regions, throughout the tenure of our Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Throughout the Presidency, Ireland will continue to reaffirm the EU’s commitment to international law and to achieving a just and lasting peace where Israelis and Palestinians live side by side in two states, Israel and Palestine, in peace, security and dignity within agreed borders based on the 1967 borders.
Ireland, together with EU partners, will continue to work towards the rapid, safe and unimpeded delivery and sustained distribution of humanitarian aid at scale into and throughout Gaza, in accordance with international law. We will continue to stress the need for the UN and its agencies, and humanitarian organisations, to be able to work independently and impartially. Ireland, together with EU counterparts, will work with international and regional stakeholders to provide support for the reconstruction and development of Gaza, in line with international law.
Ireland will continue to urge the Government of Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and protect the Palestinian population of the occupied Palestinian territory, including in the West Bank. We will continue our calls on the Government of Israel to reverse the expansion of settlements, which are illegal under international law.
Ireland has made clear our view that the EU must act in response to persistent Israeli breaches of human rights and international law. Ireland welcomed political agreement at the May Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on sanctions against three violent Israeli settlers and four entities, as well as leading Hamas figures, under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.
Ireland has consistently supported consideration of additional sanctions, including proposals brought forward by the Commission President in September 2025 concerning extremist Israeli ministers, and believes that further measures are required.
7. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether her Department has examined the possibility of introducing, at national or EU level, targeted sanctions against individuals, settler organisations, businesses or financial networks that profit from, enable, or facilitate illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory; whether she is aware of the recent decision by the United Kingdom, together with international partners, to impose sanctions on entities and individuals linked to settler violence in the occupied West Bank; whether Ireland is considering similar or complementary measures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46128/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra8. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether she has engaged with the European Union and EU Member States on the adoption of further EU measures in response to illegal Israeli settlements and violent settler activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including targeted sanctions, asset freezes, restrictions on financial networks, trade measures relating to settlements and companies operating in or profiting from them, and accountability measures for persons responsible for organising, enabling, inciting or facilitating serious violations of international law; whether Ireland will advocate for such measures at EU level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46129/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together.
The Government supports targeted sanctions against individuals and entities in response to egregious Israeli breaches of human rights and democratic principles, and has consistently called for appropriate action at EU level.
Ireland implements EU and UN sanctions. Ireland does not have a domestic sanctions framework. EU sanctions are designed to align with international law by operating within the legal frameworks of the UN Charter and the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. EU sanctions are always targeted.
There are almost fifty EU sanctions regimes and they are all designed with reference to the particular context or issue at hand. The application of sanctions by all EU Member States increases their reach and impact. This is why it remains the Government’s preference that collective action would be taken at EU level.
Ireland welcomed political agreement at the May Foreign Affairs Council on sanctions against three violent Israeli settlers and four entities, as well as leading Hamas figures, under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. The measures were formally adopted on 28 May.
Those listed in the most recent EU package of sanctions include extremist Israeli settlers and organisations which support them, and are responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Ireland has consistently supported consideration of additional sanctions, including proposals brought forward by the Commission President in September 2025 concerning extremist Israeli ministers, and believes that further measures are required.
I am aware of a number of EU countries including France, Poland, the Netherlands and others have introduced entry bans on Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich and there is an EU proposal to do the same. The UK, Canada, Australia and others took this step last year.
In line with the Taoiseach’s statement during UNGA High Level Week in 2025 that Ireland will act to prevent those members of the Government of Israel who have been instrumental in fomenting the unfolding disaster in Gaza from entering the country, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has instructed immigration officers to refuse entry to Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister for National Security of Israel, and Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance of Israel, should they seek to enter.
Ireland is supportive of an EU-wide prohibition on trade with Israeli settlements. At both the May FAC and the May FAC Trade, I requested that the European Commission bring forward proposals for a prohibition on EU trade with settlements, on the basis of the EU's Common Commercial Policy. I also reiterated Ireland’s longstanding position that the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended, or at a minimum that the trade elements should be suspended. A number of other Member States supported Ireland’s call for stronger collective EU action and agreed that targeted sanctions alone cannot substitute for meaningful measures relating to trade with illegal settlements.
The Taoiseach wrote to European Council President Costa on 20 May, reiterating Ireland’s position on EU trade with Israel and requesting an urgent discussion of these issues among EU leaders at the next meeting of the European Council on 18-19 June.
On 26 May, the Government approved the text of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods). The Bill fulfils the commitment set out in the Programme for Government to progress legislation to prohibit the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. In parallel, I will continue to push for and EU wide ban in trade with settlements, as this will have greater impact.
9. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a passport will be issued for a person (details supplied). [46273/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has issued the passport to the applicant.
