8. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she has had any recent discussions with her EU counterparts about the situation in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66240/25]

Sentiment score: 0.01

I will avail of this opportunity to congratulate the Minister on her appointment. Foreign affairs has always been an important brief but at this time of international geopolitical flux or chaos, it is a particularly important role to play. Working with the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, I am sure the Minister will do a very fine job for us on the international stage. My question relates to the situation in Afghanistan and whether the Minister has yet had the opportunity to, or will in the future, engage with her counterparts on the situation there.

Sentiment score: 0.46

I thank the Minister of State for that response. I am sure we all remember some years ago when America withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban began to march on Kabul. When Ashraf Ghani ran away and left his people to the fate that awaited them under the Taliban, many of us hoped there might be a more moderate regime than had been feared but it is quite clear from the most recent report from Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur, that the situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. One of the reasons for my question is that the two most recent statements from the Council of Ministers came in August 2023 and September 2024. While I know it is inordinately difficult, given the number of conflicts there are in the world at present, we cannot let the real tragedy that is happening in Afghanistan become a forgotten one. It needs to be continuously kept on the agenda.

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I thank the Minister of State for that response. It is particularly positive. I am very proud of my own local community in Kildare where people came together to welcome two Afghani families into the local community. They have settled in very well but they continue to fear what is happening in their home country. We hear from them of the disasters that are taking place for women and girls - their exclusion from society and relegation to a form of subhuman living. We are also conscious of the situation developing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, how the Pakistani Taliban is becoming ever more active and the loss of life that is happening in the conflict between those two countries. We should also acknowledge the number of individuals, schools and agencies in the country that are trying to provide educational services remotely to women and girls in Afghanistan. We should use whatever resources we can to assist them in that.

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I simply want to ask the Minister her views, and those of her EU counterparts, in relation to the post-ceasefire attacks in Gaza.

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One could not but be quite surprised at what has happened. We welcome the ceasefire, although it is a ceasefire of sorts, that has happened in Gaza but we are aware of the fact that slaughter of the innocents still continues and we do not, in truth, have a full and total ceasefire. Gaza's health ministry reported that more than 300 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli fire and nearly 900 injured since the ceasefire agreement came into effect on 10 October. The situation needs to be continuously monitored. I mentioned surprise. I refer to surprise that the Trump involvement achieved welcome progress in this particular matter, while the international architecture we have put in place to deal with conflict had failed and failed abysmally. Instead, we see the Trump regime, with all its weaknesses and peculiarities, achieving something in Gaza.

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The question of aid is of vital importance. We cannot ignore the fact, for example, that the Israelis have not yet agreed to open the Rafah crossing, and that the aid is accessing the Palestinian people via a variety of much smaller entry points. Irish people would like to know if we can be confident that the aid we are providing is getting to the people of Gaza. Irish people have been very generous in their support of the people there and they want to be confident that the aid is reaching those who so desperately need it. In terms of the pursuit of a long-term solution to this particular problem, it is obvious that the war - the murder and mayhem - has claimed the attention of all entities dealing with this, but how far are we from sitting down internationally to begin to engage on a long-term solution to the problems?

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I want to return to the question of Ukraine and to ask the Minister if she agrees that there can be no peace agreement imposed on Ukraine without its support and the support of the European Union generally.

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I am not sure that I agree with the Minister in welcoming the nature of the American involvement in this particular situation. It has been characterised as being on Putin's side, appearing to be on Ukraine's side, and now being back on the Putin side again. Some people think that the current peace plan was written in Russian and translated via Google Translate. I am deeply concerned about many of the provisions in that plan, which seems to have the enthusiastic support of President Trump. One could believe, given recent statements, that Secretary Rubio is perhaps more realistic in his approach and is trying to inject a level of realism into the debate, but the bottom line is that Europe must be involved so as to ensure that, as the Minister quite rightly says, nothing is done about Ukraine without Ukraine's full involvement and without Ukraine being able to benefit at the end of the day.

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We all want peace, but what is certain is that Russia cannot be rewarded for its crimes. It should not be readmitted to the G8 or reintegrated into the global economy. The plan, for example, demands Ukrainian denazification, effectively validating Russia's absurd narrative that Ukraine is riddled with Nazis. I have been there, as have other Members of this House, and I do not think there is any evidence available to that end. There have been war crimes committed in Bucha, Irpin and other places, forced relocations to Russia of children, repeated strikes on apartment buildings, most recently in the western city of Ternopil, and the torture, abuse and execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Despite all this, the plan, as it currently stands, grants the Kremlin full immunity from prosecution. Does the Minister agree that whatever agreement might be reached there can be no normalisation of EU relations with Russia while the monster Putin is president?

Sentiment score: 0.02