I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 24, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on the European Union and international affairs was established by the Government on 18 February 2025. It meets quarterly, in advance of regular European Council meetings, and as required. Its role is to oversee implementation of programme for Government commitments in relation to the European Union, including Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the EU, and international issues. The Cabinet committee on European Union and international affairs last met on 29 June 2026.

As the House will be aware, Ireland's rotating Presidency of the EU Council commenced on 1 July. It is our eighth Presidency, and we are tasked with advancing the common European interest and improving the lives of citizens across the Union. We are prioritising work to enhance the competitiveness of Europe's economy, safeguard the fundamental values of our Union at home and abroad and provide for the security of our citizens. These three core themes - competitiveness, values and security - are closely interlinked and mutually reinforcing.

One of the most serious and important tasks we face is securing agreement on the Union's next long-term budget, known as the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, as soon as possible. It is clear that the European Union's ambitious agenda for the coming years will also need a budget that is appropriate to this ambition. We will seek to secure a solid basis for the future work of the Union through the negotiation of its next multi-annual financial framework.

Ireland is engaging intensively with each member state to understand its perspectives and priorities. Europe needs a budget that supports traditional and successful policies, such as CAP and cohesion, while also investing in our future competitiveness and economic prosperity. The proposals on the table include a new European competitiveness fund to help support Europe's future economic prosperity. We remain committed to agreeing the overarching MFF package by the end of this year. We know this will not be easy. Difficult choices and compromises will need to be made by all member states. We will work as an honest broker to try to narrow gaps and bring people together.

We are also advancing work on the One Europe, One Market roadmap which was agreed in April. It sets out the key steps that we must take together towards simplifying regulation, deepening the Single Market, widening our trade links, bringing down energy costs and ensuring Europe is positioned to take advantage of the digital and climate transitions.

Ireland is also working to move forward on enlargement of our Union. We want to ensure that those countries looking to join the European Union can move forward as fast and as far as possible, consistent with the efforts they are making to undertake the necessary reforms.

We will continue to offer unwavering support to Ukraine, whose people have shown such courage and determination in defending their country. They deserve a just and lasting peace.

Last week in New York, I undertook a series of engagements for UN high-level week. These included an event to mark one year since the New York declaration, hosted by President Macron, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Burnham, and a high-level dialogue on Palestinian children in Israeli military detention. I also attended a UNICEF event on child nutrition where I was pleased to announce a new four-year programme to combat child malnutrition and hunger across Africa, with funding totalling €96 million.

I also attended the annual US host country reception, hosted by President Trump, and while at the UN, I held meetings with a number of other world leaders, including the Crown Prince of Jordan, the Iraqi Prime Minister, the Crown Prince of Kuwait and the Prime Minister of Moldova. The next meeting is on 1 October.

At the UN General Assembly, the Taoiseach said that "we, the collected international community, have failed Palestine". I could not agree more. The problem is that this applies to his Government as well. I know the Taoiseach finds this incredibly frustrating because he thinks he should just get applause for saying the right things, or some of the right things, about Palestine and should not be criticised for the lack of action. However, it is not unreasonable for us to say that the words have to be backed up by action. Earlier, in response to Deputy Coppinger, the Taoiseach said that he is focused on more important things than sport. That is fine, but then he is the one who gutted the occupied territories Bill, who opposes sanctions on Israel and who is part of a Government that is two years looking into the fact that flights illegally containing ammunition and weapons are going to Israel through our airspace. When it comes to the issue of sport and sportswashing, the Taoiseach cowardly hid behind the FAI. Deputy Barry Ward said on radio, when Gavin Bazunu came out clearly and it looked like others would do so too, that if the FAI had made a decision, it would have had the backing of the Government. Will the Taoiseach back the players if they say they are not going to go ahead with this game?

Ireland's Presidency gives us a real opportunity to tackle an issue that matters greatly to patients and families across Europe, that is, access to innovative medicines. I recognise that pricing and reimbursement remain national competencies. However, there is clear scope for greater co-operation between member states. Joint clinical assessments are now a reality and earlier this year the first EU assessment of a cancer medicine, tovorafenib, for children with low-grade glioma was published, with Ireland's National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, NCPE, acting as the assessor. The challenge is that a common assessment does not guarantee common access and patients' chances of receiving a life-changing medicine can still depend on where they live. So, while the aforementioned drug, with the NCPE acting as its assessor, was approved in principle, we still do not have an application here in Ireland. Therefore, patients here with that disease do not have access to the drug. With the new EU pharmaceutical package adopted this week and health Ministers meeting in Dublin to discuss access to medicines, Ireland now has an opportunity to lead on this issue. Given that the presidential programme identifies equitable access to healthcare as a priority, what specific outcomes does the Government intend to achieve during our Presidency to reduce the disparities?

The Opposition would lead one to believe that this country has done absolutely nothing when it comes to Palestine. However, this country was one of the first countries in the world to enact an occupied territories Bill and now we have the UK and other countries throughout Europe following suit. There needs to be an acknowledgement of that.

I want to ask the Taoiseach about how we can make fundamental changes and put real pressure on Israel through the suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement. Will the Cabinet committee be discussing how the Government can pursue a suspension of that agreement, moving forward?

Will the Taoiseach intervene urgently to secure access to Gaza for a mobile maternity unit funded by the community in west Waterford through a major fundraising campaign led by Gael ar son Gaza? We know the criminal Israeli regime has targeted medical personnel and medical infrastructure and this has led to there being no maternity facilities in the whole of Gaza. Women are giving birth in the most atrocious conditions and the impact on women - expectant and new mothers - and their babies is immense. It is part of Israel's genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people. It is an attack on newborns, pregnant women and maternity services. That is why the community in west Waterford and many other communities have raised money to fund mobile maternity units. However, Israel, in its callousness and inhumanity, is stopping them from entering Gaza so women are still giving birth under canvas and in tents, in the most medieval conditions. This summer, all but two of Ireland's MEPs co-signed a letter to Kaja Kallas seeking her intervention. I will not name the two MEPs who did not sign it but it is on the public record for those who are interested. Will the Taoiseach, in the context of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, intervene and use every lever available to him and the EU to get these mobile maternity units into Gaza?

The Taoiseach said today that Benjamin Netanyahu, a wanted war criminal, does not care if Ireland plays a football game against Israel. That is not true. If people support BDS, they are not allowed into Israel. People can be jailed in Israel if they support BDS. Why? It is because Israel is terrified of boycott, divestment and sanctions and is terrified of people who tell the truth, that the Israeli state itself is based on apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide against the Palestinian people. That is why Israelis are worried and why Yoseph Haddad, who was in this building previously and who is a mouthpiece for Israel, was leading chants in the stadium, while the game was going on, in favour of the IDF, the force that has carried out the genocide. He was leading the chants. What kind of sick state cheers for armed forces engaged in a genocide? It is a state that is not a normal state, one that needs to be treated like apartheid South Africa was treated and needs to be boycotted, just as we boycotted apartheid South Africa. Why does the Taoiseach not show leadership, in the way Gavin Bazunu did, and give confidence and support to the footballers not to play this rogue regime?

Will the Cabinet agree to send an observer to the Ulm 5 trial in Germany? That trial is taking place without a transcript and without any observer, despite the Minister standing up over there and telling us that there would be oversight of the trial. How can we have oversight if there is no observer on behalf of the Irish Government? I remind the Taoiseach about his speech at the UN when he spoke about an affront to decency in relation to what is happening in Gaza and said that we must act. These young people did not carry out any violence and they have been remanded for over a year. One of them is Daniel Tatlow-Devally, an Irish citizen. I and other TDs and MEPs attended the trial and we saw for ourselves outrageous treatment of the defendants who were behind glass panels. They were not being listened to and were not able to communicate in an ongoing way with their teams. Their alleged crime was to show opposition to the genocide in Gaza by destroying the arsenal that is being built up there. When is the Taoiseach going to send an observer, as was promised by the Minister and the Government?

Business as usual with Israel is long beyond tenable. Ireland now holds the EU Presidency at a time when the EU's continued trade relationship with Israel is under intense scrutiny. I ask the Taoiseach to outline to the House the concrete steps he taking, as Taoiseach and holder of the EU Presidency, to build the necessary support among member states to suspend the trade elements of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Will he commit to making this a priority on the agenda of EU leaders?

At the Cabinet committee, will the Taoiseach back up his words at the UN General Assembly with three separate actions to strengthen support for the Palestinian people? First, in light of the British Government's policy reset and its stronger version of an occupied territories Bill, will the Government revisit its own Attorney General's advice as well as advice from Departments in relation to financial services and services in general and strengthen our own Bill? Second, will the Government follow the precedent set by Deputy Chambers in 2022 when, as Minister of State with responsibility for sport, he wrote to Irish sport's national governing bodies regarding a joint statement, signed by 37 other sports Ministers, which called for Russia and Belarus to be banned from hosting, bidding for or competing in international sporting events? Will the Government follow that precedent through, apply the same to Israel and stop this second game from happening? Third, following on from what Deputy Coppinger said, will the Government send an observer to the Ulm 5 trial, as promised, straight away?

I welcome the closer relationship between Ireland and the European Union on one side and Canada on the other side. I ask the Taoiseach to outline to the House how he envisages the proposal of associate membership of the European Union for Canada operating.

Will he outline when he expects full Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, ratification to proceed here in Ireland? In practical terms, does he see the possibility, either through Erasmus+ or Horizon Europe, of increased opportunities for educational exchange between higher education students and, as I would like to see, at second level as well? There is a big connection between south-west Wicklow, in my constituency, and Canada. More opportunities for exchange between our two countries would be welcome.

To Deputy Paul Murphy I would say that neither I nor the Government wants any applause. We just want balance and an acknowledgement that we have been the leading government in Europe, along with Spain, in supporting a Palestinian right to self-determination and in opposing the Israeli genocide in Gaza and what is amounting to ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.

On the humanitarian side, we have been strongly supportive. We have provided over €134 million in support for the people of Palestine since January 2023. That includes new funding of €42 million for the Palestinian people for 2026, of which more than €31 million has been paid to date. Either Deputy Murphy or Deputy Boyd Barrett said our words have not been backed up by any action. That is just untrue. The Deputies cannot get away with saying stuff like that. We have ensured there is continuing financial support to the Palestinian Authority. We have allocated approximately €78 million to UNRWA since 2023, of which €20 million was provided in 2026.

We intervened in South Africa's International Court of Justice case against Israel under the Genocide Convention. We made a submission to the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of Israel's actions in the occupied Palestinian territories. We subsequently co-sponsored a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 September 2024, which seeks to implement the court's advisory opinion. We have recognised Palestine as a sovereign independent state. Since 2024, there have been medical evacuations from Palestine of sick children, along with their family members, for treatment here, with plans ongoing for further missions. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has supported over 400 people to leave Gaza and travel to Ireland since the crisis began. We have led from the front on this issue. It is just nonsense to say we have only made statements and have taken no action.

We have done more than that. We also signed into law the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Act. We were the first European Union country to announce measures prohibiting trade with Israeli settlements. We led the way on that issue, followed closely by Spain, and now other countries are pursuing it. I welcome the statements that have been made by the UK, France and Canada that they are also acting on the issue of trade with Israeli settlements. There has been a reset in respect of the UK. I welcome that and have spoken to Prime Minister Burnham about it. We continue to push for a ban on trade, including services, at EU level, where it would be far more effective.

The fundamental issue remains how to change the Israeli Government from pursuing the policies and militarisation campaign it is pursuing. That is the fundamental question. Within Europe, there has been division. Many member states, for historical reasons, have been very slow to hold Israel to account and have been very naive in accepting Israeli guarantees in respect of this all along the way.

Deputy Ó Cearúil asked about the suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement. We are not yet in a position where we can get agreement on that. The High Representative has been pushing it at the Foreign Affairs Council. I have raised it at the European Council. Some member states are still very much against that.

Deputy McGuinness asked specifically about access for mobile maternity units to Gaza. When I was Minister for Foreign Affairs, I went to Rafah and witnessed at first hand the enormous volume of aid that was on the wrong side of Rafah, that is, it was not allowed in there. I was told last week that pencil kits were allowed in for little children. They were not allowed in before that because they included a tiny scissors, with nonsense spoken about them possibly being used as weapons. There is an incredibly malign and vicious approach from the Israeli authorities in respect of allowing aid into Gaza. I saw a mobile tent with coolers and so on that would have facilitated transport of vaccines and other medicine into Gaza. It was refused. There was so much stuff refused. Countries all over the world had made donations of medical equipment, including scanners and everything else. All of it was refused. It is appalling. That is what I said at the UN and I meant it. It is absolutely beyond human comprehension that any state would behave like this. I have spoken to President Trump about getting that aid into Gaza. I will send a specific message regarding the mobile maternity clinics.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan spoke about innovative medicines and joint clinical assessments across the EU. That is welcome. Common access is still some distance away but it is the best way to go and we will be pursuing it with the Commission. Historically, health systems have been very reluctant to have greater European harmonisation. Public health is probably the one area where we have had some success because of the Covid-19 experience, including the vaccines and all of that. The more we have a common approach in Europe, the better it will be all around for EU citizens. That is what a one-market approach means, by the way, and there should be a one-market approach in health and medicine as well. We now have common approval of medicines but, as the Deputy said, they go into the 27 individual member state approval processes. I will talk to the Minister for Health to work out how best we can pursue that at European Union level.

On Deputy Coppinger's question, my understanding is that our ambassador and officials from the consulate and the embassy have been at the trial to which she referred.

I have just spoken to Daniel's mother about it.

My understanding is that officials from the Department of foreign affairs and from the embassy have attended the trial. However, I will check that again with the Minister for foreign affairs. Certainly, there was an offer to visit those who are detained. They offered to visit and so on. I am not sure what was the response to that. I will check with the Minister.

On the football matches against Israel, the FAI has sought, through UEFA and otherwise, to exclude Israel from all competition. That would be the desirable outcome.

The first issue Deputy Smith raised concerned financial services.

Yes, Britain is including services, in accordance with the legal advice it has been given.

As I said earlier, we are pursuing that through the European Union. The advice from the Attorney General is very clear that implementation is impossible.

Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked about co-operation between the EU and Canada. What we are looking at here is a closer relationship between the two, with a significant pivot by Canada to Europe because of its trade issues with the US. It is a good idea to have second level participation in Erasmus+. I met with Prime Minister Carney after the state of the union address by President von der Leyen. He certainly is very keen to strengthen the relationship between Europe and Canada. I hope he will be here in November for the European Political Community meeting, at which we will continue to pursue these issues.

I hope CETA will be ratified by the end of the year. There are legal issues in terms of challenges. It is proving to be extraordinarily beneficial to the Irish economy and Irish SMEs, with a fivefold increase in exports. It baffles me why Opposition Members are consistently against that trade deal. It seems they, and Sinn Féin in particular, have relegated trade to the bottom of the barrel in terms of the issues they feel we should be concerned about. It just baffles me that Sinn Féin is taking legal action against a trade agreement that benefits jobs, workers and many companies in this country.