Neale Richmond
Dublin Rathdown · Fine Gael · Ireland
“I am grateful to Deputy Ó Murchú for raising this once again. I welcome the comments by his party leader this week when she declared that this is a great State and a great place to live in. It makes a welcome change from most other days of the week.”
“Another thing that must be looked at when discussing a united Ireland is that a lot of work has to be done to show example from political representatives on the base level of sectarianism that at least two other colleagues on these benches and I put up with every day.”
“They could not decide among themselves in the "Yes" campaign whether they would have a new form of sterling or a currency pegged to sterling or adopt the euro. That is not an issue for us. We join the European Union and we join the euro. It is simple as.”
“I will make a few concluding remarks to follow on from some of the points made by the Taoiseach in his opening iteration because in his 20 minutes he did not cover them all.”
“Over the coming months, we will act impartially serving as an honest broker among our fellow member states to progress many files in areas that were raised here today. Our work will respond to the overall interests and needs of the union, its member states and citizens across Europe.”
“More pertinently to the Deputy's questions, very real charges have been placed in The Irish Times and by other investigative journalists stating that the amounts of alumina being produced from Aughinish are going indirectly to the Russian war machine. If that is the case, it is completely unacceptable.”
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“Crucially, every challenge we face in Europe at the moment goes back to global instability. When the pillar of development is removed, the foundation stone of that global stability is removed. You are creating more problems for yourself on direct bilateral relations and allowing more malevolent actors fill the space of more benevolent actors. The Deputy is quite right that certain member states are cutting development aid and saying they need to put it towards security and defence. I do not buy that argument for an instant. If you are serious about security, including energy, food, political and domestic security, and managing migration in supporting those who need to migrate as well as making sure countries can handle and meet the requirements they have, you have to invest in development.”
“It is an investment that works, not just for the people who receive that investment but, crucially, for people here in Ireland.”
“We have to make sure that all the development Ministers come to Ireland in early October and that we engage with Barry Andrews MEP, who is chair of the development committee in the European Parliament, to make sure, crucially, that the multi-annual financial framework, within its global Europe provision, does not cut development. We can increase spending in other areas. I have no problem with that and we will debate it in another forum but we have to make sure that Ireland is unified. There are voices in this Chamber, who are not here, who will tell us this is a waste of money. I visited eight of the 13 Irish Aid countries in the last year. I will go my ninth and tenth next week, and my eleventh for St. Patrick's Day, to show that we believe in development.”
“Credibly, Denmark maintained theirs and Norway, which is not an EU member state, also increased theirs. However, what I was confronted with at my first development Ministers' Foreign Affairs Council meeting was a real mix. Some member states said that for budgetary reasons, and a focus on defence and pension reform, they were cutting. Others, from a range of member states but traditionally member states who had been strong on this, gleefully relished that they were going to cut their development budgets in some sort of Trumpian act.”
“The Deputy and I occasionally disagree. We actually agree more times than we disagree but let us not let the people of Dublin Rathdown know that. I like to think one area we passionately agree on is Ireland's role when it comes to official development assistance and development. I am relishing Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union putting development back at the centre of European discussions. We are faced, quite frankly, with possibly the most destabilising and worrying approach to overseas development assistance since Irish Aid was created in 1974. It is not just the withdrawal of USAID's funding, which is massive, but the commitment by the British Government to withdraw from 0.5% to 0.3% is really destabilising. Last year, Ireland and Spain were the only two EU member states to increase their development budget.”
“On 31 October, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 2797, extending the mandate of the UN mission for the referendum in Western Sahara for one year. Ireland is considering the implications of the MINURSO mandate renewal following its adoption. We maintain a full awareness of what is going on and the complexity it provides in EU negotiations and the changing shifts of other member state governments. Ireland has not changed its opinion. It has maintained it. That underlines all aspects of negotiations and discussions as laid out here today.”
“I appreciate the intervention - I am looking up to make sure I am not missing anyone - from all three Deputies. What I want to get through is real clarity. Ireland's position on Western Sahara has been, and continues to be, guided by the aim of achieving a just and lasting political solution that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, as to Deputy Ó Laoghaire's point, and we make that point at every opportunity that we are given. Ireland's engagement on this issue will also continue to take account of the role of and the insights provided by the personal envoy of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura. Officials in the Department continuously keep any relevant developments under review, including in the context of the EU and UN discussions.”
“There is a little bit of extra detail that I might supply the Deputy with in written form. I do not have it to hand at this moment.”
“It must be made clear that Ireland maintains bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Morocco. We have an embassy there and a resident ambassador here, but we also maintain engagement with the opposition within Western Sahara. We do have that full engagement with all peoples, recognising that about 20% of Western Sahara is under the control of the self-determination movement. We tread a delicate line here, to be quite frank. I am not trying to be evasive or dismissive in any regard. The irony of having to uphold obligations under EU law and implementing something while there is still a full ratification process under way is not lost on me. The concerns that the Irish Government raised were multifaceted, but the pace with which this agreement was concluded was of major concern to us, and we raised that.”
“The next step requires the consent of the European Parliament. Ireland has continued to follow up with the EU institutions with regard to an expected date for this next step. We have not yet received an update in that regard. Throughout the process, Ireland has made clear our view that the compatibility of the agreement with the fundamental principle in international law of the right of peoples to self-determination should be paramount in the implementation of this agreement.”
“The Commission thus worked to negotiate a new agreement between the EU and Morocco by that date. The EU and Morocco signed a new agreement on 3 October 2025, and its provisional application began. On 2 October 2025, Ireland voted in favour of the Council decision via written procedure, indicating that Ireland would not stand in the way of EU consensus and in order to ensure that the EU complied with its legal obligations. However, Ireland also registered procedural and substantive concerns about the Commission’s handling of this process. Ireland made clear that we expect to receive regular updates from the Commission on key issues as the agreement is implemented. The process towards adoption of a Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the EU of the new agreement with Morocco has not yet reached its conclusion.”
“I thank Deputy Gibney for raising this. If the Deputy does not mind, I acknowledge the work of Senator Alice-Mary Higgins in this regard. I have taken a Commencement matter for her in the Seanad and have had many engagements on what is a complex issue. It is good that we are discussing it. On 4 October 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld an earlier ruling of the General Court annulling the Council decision on the conclusion of a 2018 agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco. The 2018 agreement sought to extend tariff preferences laid down in an EU-Morocco association agreement to products originating in Western Sahara. The court set a deadline of 4 October 2025, in that it maintained the effects of the Council decision until that date.”
“We all have to be very wary when it comes to Belarus and make sure that the sanctions are maintained at a level deemed necessary by us within the European Union as an entirety.”
“Let us be quite frank: Lukashenko is a dictator who has repressed his people since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He has done so willingly, aided and abetted by another dictator in the form of Vladimir Putin. They work in concert to repress their own people and undermine the very stability of the global world order that has kept Europe, until recently, in a level of peace that had not been seen before in history. Any sort of softening when it comes to the regime in Belarus is, by proxy, a softening when it comes to the regime in Russia. I am extremely heartened to see more political prisoners released. I am extremely heartened when they give us the honour to visit Ireland and to engage with us as a member of the EU, bearing in mind the human ties going back to the Chernobyl disaster.”
“I think of the mindset and the interventions of my counterparts, particularly in the Baltic states and in Poland, who, on a daily basis not only face the very real undermining of their civil and political infrastructure by hybrid activities by Belarus but also the sheer impact of the complicity of Belarus in Russia's horrendous full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In many cases, I therefore defer to my Lithuanian colleague, a country which will assume the Presidency of the Council of the EU after Ireland as part of the trio system. We continue to engage with all our contacts both on a civic society basis within and outside Belarus as well as those from the political movement in exile. There is a clear demand to maintain the level of sanctions and be responsive to any more antagonism or protagonism from Belarus.”
“In direct response to the Deputy's question, I do not envisage a lessening of sanctions any time soon. They were only just increased in December due to the hybrid incursions into Lithuanian airspace. I go back to his original point on how we get guided by the application of sanctions. Sanctions do work. Sanctions forced the Belarusians to release so many prisoners and the sheer prospect of them being weakened by the Americans provided that support. When we talk about Belarus, bearing in mind that we are, most likely, the EU member state located the furthest away geographically, the diplomat who services Belarus for us is accredited to our embassy in Vilnius.”
“We have to bear all that into account and perhaps tread carefully when it comes to the suggestion or the request to engage directly.”
“We will continue to work closely with EU partners to examine options for further actions to respond to Belarus's persistent and provocative hybrid activities. That means engaging directly with the regime is extremely difficult. I say that quite frankly. I take with great sincerity the interventions by the released political prisoners. We engage with those former prisoners as an Irish Government at a political and an official level as well as, crucially, at a European level. Some of our own European political affiliations and networks do so as well. We will take their views and their opinions into account but we also have to respond to the actuality and the hybrid incursions were actualities. It is a fact that Belarus is tied at the hip with Russia when it comes to the Russian atrocities in Ukraine.”
“It is a very serious proposition by the Deputy that needs to be dealt with quite delicately. In December of last year, the EU widened the scope of sanctions against Belarus in response to hybrid activities affecting EU member states. That decision was not taken lightly. While, of course, we welcome the release of political prisoners by Belarus and we are very grateful to the role of the US Administration, we have yet to see evidence of a change of policy in Belarus. In addition to its violations of human rights and the rule of law, and its absolute complicity in Russia's ongoing illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the regime's hybrid activity directed towards the EU continues to increase in scale. We have strongly condemned the large-scale incursions into Lithuanian airspace from Belarus.”
“A Belarusian diplomat is accredited to Ireland to perform consular functions on a non-resident basis and an Irish diplomat is accredited to Belarus on a similar basis. My Department’s current travel advisory for Belarus is simply not to go there.”
“I know I am one of a number of people in this House who has met her, as have other Ministers and the Tánaiste, who have also met her husband who was released just last summer from detention in Belarus after spending five years as a political prisoner. There is also ongoing contact between officials in my Department and representatives of the Belarus democratic movement. Ireland continues to support strong co-ordinated EU sanctions and other measures, including action at the OSCE and at the UN, to hold Belarus accountable for its violations of human rights and the rule of law, and its complicity in Russia’s ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine. Ireland has very limited engagement with the Belarusian Government.”
“In recent years, my Department has also provided funding to several other Belarusian civil society projects, including in support of independent media, through grants provided by the European Endowment for Democracy. Our connection with Belarus and its people is reinforced by the compassion and empathy of Irish families who welcomed Belarusian children and young people into their homes and lives, creating permanent bonds in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster almost 40 years ago. Belarusian democratic leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was one of those young people. I am aware of the close ties of friendship that she holds for Ireland from her childhood stays in our country.”
“Ireland’s response to the situation in Belarus has focused on working bilaterally, and at EU and multilateral levels, to support civil society and the democratic movement in exile and to highlight concerns regarding the Lukashenko regime's violations of human rights. At the same time, we seek to assure the people of Belarus of our continued commitment to their well-being, human rights and legitimate aspiration to a prosperous future in a democratic Belarus. In 2025, my Department provided funding to the Viasna human rights centre founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, and to the international humanitarian fund for the victims of repressions in Belarus to offer support to current and former political prisoners.”
“I welcome, therefore, efforts by the United States to achieve the release of all political prisoners of the regime in Belarus, which most recently secured the release of 123 political prisoners in December last. While the regime has released political prisoners in recent months, it has exiled many of them, separating them from their families and their homeland. It has also placed many more people in prison for their political views. I reiterate Ireland's long-standing position that all political prisoners must be released and the regime must end its repression against the Belarusian people.”
“Former political prisoners, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski and Ales Bialiatski, have given harrowing accounts of prolonged isolation, psychological pressure and other inhumane treatment suffered in Belarusian prisons. I share their grave concerns about the treatment of the more than 1,150 political prisoners. Shockingly, since May 2021, at least eight political prisoners have died in the regime’s captivity. Deputy Ó Fearghaíl can correct me if I am wrong. I am one of a number of Members from the last Dáil who adopted Belarusian prisoners as godchildren, be they godsons or daughters, based on a campaign. I am delighted that my Belarusian political goddaughter was released from prison. She simply had the crime of having a cigarette in the wrong place at the wrong time and being a young student.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 66, 87 and 90 together. It might not be wise for me to tell Deputy Ó Fearghaíl how I feel about the situation in Belarus. Personal emotions might be slightly stronger than the Government position. Belarus continues to live under the shadow of repression. The Government remains extremely concerned at the ongoing erosion of human rights and democracy there and Belarus's ongoing support for and complicity in Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. The Lukashenko regime's repression of human rights and restrictions on political participation and access to independent media are intended to stifle opposition voices and shore up its own authority.”
“Each assessment is done, depending on the policy area, by the relevant line Department. Regarding the initial assessment in relation to GDPR and citizens' rights, overall assessments, although not necessarily as specific as the Deputy outlined, are carried out by each Department, including the Department of justice, which is the relevant one. It is our responsibility in the Department of foreign affairs to co-ordinate those assessments and provide unified responses when we come to discuss this at a Council meeting or between officials at COREPER level.”
“I will not be baited by the needless false comparison from Deputy Gibney in somehow bringing the triple lock and neutrality into this really serious debate. She asked who the stakeholders are before, without any evidence, telling me they are just businesses. In fact, stakeholders include civil society, work organisations, the trade union movement and citizens as a whole. There is a clearly enshrined EU consultative process. This is a really serious issue and I accept the bona fides of both Deputies in raising concerns. I do not dismiss their concerns for an instant. I may disagree with some of their points, which is allowed in this House, but I do not need to start making false assertions. Deputy O'Rourke makes a very fair point in terms of what assessments are being carried out on an internal basis.”
“That is why the Government had advocated for a dynamic, ambitious and risk-based approach focused on removing regulatory overlaps and administrative burdens, for example, while also supporting compliance. This package was introduced in November. We are in the position of working through it in each of the different frameworks and policy areas. I hear the Deputies' concerns. They are valid and they need to be worked through. However, I do not necessarily conflate seeking to make things more simplified and more competitive with a rush to deregulate and some form of race to the bottom. I reject that assertion. It is worth working through this process in its entirety.”
“Others will come from the Department of Health, the Department of the environment and so on. It is really important that our legislative approach be in line with core better regulation principles and the inter-institutional agreement on better law-making while prioritising smarter, simpler and more streamlined regulations. The Government recognises the importance of regulation, crucially to ensure markets operate efficiently and fairly. That in no way waters down our recognition that we also need to protect consumers in a range of areas. In that context, it is important that regulations are targeted and proportionate to the policy objective, whether it is to protect consumers and citizens or to promote competitiveness and innovation.”
“It is important that I be crystal clear on this matter. The Government's position is that simplification must be about better regulation, not deregulation. We need to reduce the regulatory burden, particularly for SMEs, while maintaining high ambition in terms of protections, including environmental, human health, privacy and a range of other standards. The omnibus proposal is not actually an omnibus; it comprises ten pieces of legislation and we are referring to just one element here. The role of the Department of foreign affairs is to co-ordinate all Government responses to the proposal. Some of them will come from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and Deputy Gibney has referenced the role of the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth.”
“In this context, the Government supports the broader review of the digital rulebook through the fitness check of the digital acquis announced by the Commission as part of this package.”
“It is important to note also that the proposals under the digital simplification omnibus package must proceed through the EU’s ordinary legislative procedure, requiring review and approval by both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, which we will have the Presidency of for the second half of this year. As we move forward, it will also be important to future-proof the EU digital regulatory framework, with the overall aim of increasing the coherence and effectiveness of the EU's digital rulebook. This means ensuring forthcoming digital regulations are developed with the same objectives around simplification, harmonisation and coherence strongly to the fore.”
“The Government further welcomes the efforts to simplify the reporting of cybersecurity incidents as the complexity of incident reporting has been repeatedly highlighted by stakeholders as a major issue, particularly for SMEs. However, we have concerns on the proposal to develop a single entry point for incident reporting across a number of legislative files, including non-cybersecurity ones such as GDPR. Discussions on these proposals remain at an early stage. We will continue to consult with stakeholders and engage constructively in these discussions.”
“The Government welcomes the proposed amalgamation of the open data directive, the free flow of non-personal data regulation, the Data Governance Act and the Data Act into a single consolidated data Act as it will streamline the data framework and provide greater clarity and alignment of the data rulebook. The Government supports amendments to the general data protection regulation, GDPR, that can reduce compliance burdens but maintain the strong safeguards on the use of personal data in keeping with the core principles and objectives of the GDPR. Essential principles of public trust, transparency, data protection and improved public outcomes and public good are central to any simplification package.”
“The proposed changes to the AI Act respond to practical implementation challenges highlighted by stakeholders and are aimed at increasing certainty for regulators, businesses and citizens, reducing compliance costs and administrative burdens, and supporting innovation while maintaining protections. The Government has welcomed the EU’s focus on simplification, having consistently advocated for targeted and proportionate regulation, ensuring the right balance between stimulating innovation, boosting competitiveness and enforcing regulation when necessary. The second proposal, the digital omnibus, aims to simplify and streamline the EU’s data rulebook and cybersecurity incident reporting.”
“In the lead-up to its publication, Ireland strongly encouraged an ambitious digital simplification package that can support the EU’s strategic positioning as the location of choice for trustworthy digital innovation, while maintaining a central focus on protecting data privacy and fundamental rights of citizens. The proposals are a first step, and an important element of the overall approach to improving competitiveness at an EU level in line with the Draghi report and related work. The package contains two legislative proposals, which are the digital omnibus on AI and the digital omnibus. The first legislative proposal, the digital omnibus on AI, aims to simplify and streamline the EU’s AI Act.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 70 together. I am grateful to both Deputies Gibney and O'Rourke for tabling this timely intervention. The Government strongly supports the EU’s competitiveness agenda. Simplification is a key enabler of this. The European Commission put forward ten separate simplification omnibus packages in 2025. Each package usually contains several legislative proposals relevant to multiple Departments. My Department has been co-ordinating Ireland’s approach across government to these packages. The digital simplification omnibus package was published by the European Commission on 19 November last year.”
“Whatever we can do to work with the Deputy in her role as convener of the friendship group to make sure that adequate support is provided, I undertake to do that with her fully and enthusiastically.”
“One of the key strands to the Government's approach to Canada is promoting those cultural and historically links. That will not only be reflected in the new Global Ireland diaspora strategy that I look forward to launching at the end of April, but also in our commitment to working with our Canadian counterparts and using CETA not just for economic enhancement but looking where the real cultural and shared values are on a global scale. I find myself regularly at meetings of the United Nations' bodies, the G20 or otherwise. It is the Canadian Minister I always seek out to see what their interaction and intervention are going to be like. Enshrining that by support of the very famous Thomas D'Arcy McGee summer school in a no more appropriate and no more beautiful location as Carlingford would be absolutely appropriate.”
“It might not necessarily come under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, but that does not mean that we cannot lean on agencies or partners, be they public or private. It must be remembered how complex a character Thomas D'Arcy McGee was. Looking at that complexity, it is noteworthy in itself for a range of people from across this island to see how that diversity and complexity transfers from Ireland to a country like Canada.”
“From a Department point of view, most of our spending in relation to strengthening ties with Canada happens within Canada. This is not just from the direct diplomatic missions, including in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa, but also with a range of groups that promote Irish culture and heritage and work with the Irish communities across the broad expanse of Canada. In relation to funding in country and the opportunity for the Thomas D'Arcy McGee summer school, there is a range of possibilities through general funding, particularly shared island funding, given the significance of this as a North-South project. I am more than happy to work with the Deputy to identify those.”
“Just last week, the Minister for the arts, Deputy O'Donovan, led a creative industries trade mission to Canada to meet with cultural, sporting and educational leaders. In addition, last week, the Minister for further and higher education, Deputy Lawless, launched the de Chastelian scholarships. This is a new programme that is jointly funded by the Irish and Canadian Governments. I visited Toronto in September. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy McEntee, is aware of the good work done by the Thomas D'Arcy McGee summer school. As I mentioned at the outset, I addressed this two years ago. I understand that a number of public bodies provide funding and a number of former civil servants from my Department have spoken at the school in recent years. We could not be more supportive of the work of the summer school.”
“Plans for a new Ireland House in Toronto are under way while a new embassy chancery in Ottawa was opened by the Taoiseach during his visit in September 2025 where he met the new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The Taoiseach has invited the Prime Minister to Ireland noting that three of his grandparents are Irish. The Government intends to fully ratify the EU-Canada Comprehensive and Trade and Agreement, CETA, in the coming months to build on our strong trading relationship with Canada. Since the provisional application of CETA in 2017, trade in Irish good and services with Canada has increased from about €3.2 billion in 2016 to more than €10 billion in 2023. Last November, the Minister for enterprise Deputy Burke, led a trade mission to Canada with representatives from 31 Irish companies.”
“I am grateful to the Deputy not only for raising this issue but also for her consistent advocacy for stronger Irish-Canadian relations in her role as convener of the Canada-Ireland Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group. As the Deputy knows, Ireland and Canada have cultivated strong political, economic and cultural connections, grounded in our shared history, values and commitment to a rules-based international order. Under the Global Ireland programme, Ireland significantly expanded its diplomatic presence in Canada opening new consulates generals in Vancouver in 2018 and in Toronto in 2022 complementing Ireland's trade promotion agencies in Canada.”
“One thing that always strikes me is that not only do we have Irish-accented stooges broadcasting on social media from Russia, but we have countless numbers of MEPs, including Irish MEPs, who fail to actually vote with the European consensus in criticising Russia, backing sanctions or indeed stating support for those who speak out in favour of human rights within the Russian Federation.”
“It should be really important to say the Irish Government condemns the Russian Government. The Irish Government and our European partners condemn the regime of Putin and those who support it and fund it, particularly the oligarchs. We have great sympathy for the people of Russia who live in a state of fear and repression and it has been made quite clear what happens to those who speak out against the regime. Alexei Navalny, whose death we mourn, is the most obvious one. We also have to remember that the efforts made to counter this have to be made primarily at a European level, be that through the European Union or the Council of Europe.”
“We talk about the very real, brave opposition people who have been repressed, but we have not mentioned the very worrying number of, quite frankly, foreign stooges propagating from Russia - some of whom have Irish citizenship - talking about the regime and spreading misinformation and disinformation. We also need to be in a position to call them out and challenge them for their craven propaganda towards this regime.”
“There are a couple of measures there. First and foremost, Ireland has fully supported all 19 sanctions packages promoted by the European Union against Russia, the latest of which was agreed in October 2025. A 20th package of sanctions is currently being worked on and Ireland will be to the fore in supporting it. We absolutely condemn Russia's withdrawal from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Ireland is a consistent funder of a range of human rights-dependent organisations around the world, and we acknowledge the very real atrocities that are being carried out in Russia by the Russian regime. I might just raise one concern.”
“As an EU member, Ireland has supported the EU’s response to the accelerating and systematic repression in Russia, including the adoption of a specific sanctions regime relating to the human rights situation in Russia in 2024. This regime allows for restrictive measures to be imposed on those responsible for serious human rights violations or abuses, repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and undermining democracy and the rule of law in Russia. I commend the bravery of those Russian citizens who, despite great personal risks and under extremely difficult conditions, continue to work towards a free and democratic future for Russia, which respects human rights and the rule of law.”