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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar travels to Brussels today to attend a meeting of EU leaders to discuss the huge challenges posed by two major conflicts on Europe’s doorsteps – the ongoing war in Ukraine and the outbreak of a bloody conflict in the Middle East.
The meeting in Brussels will happen today just as the Department of Foreign Affairs has warned Irish citizens to leave Lebanon because of the highly volatile situation there.
As Colin Gleeson reports: “Citizens should be aware that, in the event that the political or security situation deteriorates, we are likely to be very limited in the assistance that we can provide,” said the department said in a statement.
“Citizens should not rely on evacuation options being possible if commercial options become unavailable.”
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Of course, the warning does not apply to Irish Defence Forces personnel on duty in southern Lebanon.
The meeting in Brussels over the next two days will come at a time of high global tension and internal division among the EU27. There are differences on how the union should respond to the continuing Israeli bombardment of Gaza, with no clear view emerging on if the bloc should call for a ceasefire.
Ireland has been to the forefront of calls for a ceasefire and has been highly critical of the Israeli blockade of humanitarian aid, including fuel, from entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing from Egypt. Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin have both decried the Israeli decision to allow only a handful of trucks to cross the border each day.
In the Dáil on Tuesday, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald asked Varadkar to call for an immediate ceasefire at the council meeting.
Varadkar responded he would do the best he could to persuade the EU council to take a particular position.
“We are calling for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow aid to get into the Gaza Strip ... We are also calling on Hamas to give up all the hostages.”
He also said that Ireland would emphasise that Israel’s right to defend itself could only do so in accordance with international humanitarian law.
However, there is a clear gap between those calls and the approach of states like Germany which are far more supportive of Israel’s response, and have aligned more closely to the views of EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Meanwhile, there are also concerns among some leaders that the terrible war in Ukraine has been eclipsed somewhat and might not be as pressing a priority for the EU, with questions about the bloc’s wherewithal to deal with the two conflicts.
There is not full alignment on the EU’s position on Ukraine either. The new Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico is a populist who campaigned to end military aid to Ukraine and also to bring an end to sanctions on Russia. To that extent, he is seen as a potential ally at the council for another outlier, Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
Fallout from Cabinet row over Ukraine
The simmering differences between Ministers that led to the row this week over the approach to accommodation for future Ukrainian refugees continues to be played out in the media.
In our print lead story this morning, we report that refugee groups have criticised a proposal at Government level to restrict the length of State-provided accommodation to incoming refugees to 90 days.
Irish Refugee Council chief executive Nick Henderson has said: “Ethically it’s problematic, but as a policy idea it’s problematic because they don’t know if it’s going to be successful or not,” he said.
“I just don’t think it’s practical, where would people move on to?” he asked, questioning whether people would effectively be evicted from ‘welcome centres’ planned under proposals drawn up by officials.
There is also a row on if Fianna Fáil Ministers, including the Tánaiste, were “blindsided” about the presentation that was made by Roderic O’Gorman on Tuesday. Those close to him have insisted that this has been on the agenda since July.
Another issue of difference was over education, with Martin arguing that such a policy would be disruptive for children who would have to be moved from a school as the family moved on from centres after three months.
It’s likely that the status quo will not continue. One option the Government may pursue might be to bring an end to its “open door” policy. There is concern about so-called secondary movements to Ireland, people who fled to another EU country and stayed for a period of time and now want to move here.
Varadkar told the Dáil on Wednesday. “It’s a long standing issue with international protection, people who have been living safely in other parts of western Europe for a period of time, then coming to Ireland and claiming asylum,” he said.
At the Fine Gael parliamentary meeting last night, he continued this theme: “While there is no limit on compassion, there is a limit to capacity and that is a challenge,” he said.
Green Minister Joe O’Brien strongly backed O’Gorman’s approach saying large numbers of refugees staying in hotels was not good for integration.
Best reads
Michael McDowel in his column derides the suggestion by Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker that any poll on a United Ireland should only be valid if there is a super majority.
“The idea that a minority of 42 per cent of voters could ensure 58 per cent of Northern Ireland voters stay within the UK against their wishes is political nonsense,” he writes.
Daniel Geary, an associate professor in American history at Trinity College Dublin argues the US will bear responsibility for the catastrophe in the Middle East if Joe Biden does not change from his position of unconditional support for Israel.
Playbook
Dáil Éireann
09:00: Parliamentary Questions to Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe
10:30: Parliamentary Questions to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue
12:00: Leaders’ Questions
13:44: Statements on Road Safety
16:59: Private Members’ Bill. Motion re report entitled Aligning Disability Services with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
18:14: Dáil adjourns
Seanad Éireann
11.45: Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023 — Second Stage.
Committees
09.30: Public Accounts. The funding of local authorities is under the spotlight including the underspend in 2022 . Ahead of the meeting its chair, Brian Stanely (Sinn Féin) has said: “In 2022, the department’s expenditure was €5.6 billion out of a total voted budget of €6.2 billion. Surplus funds were €587 million. Of this, €340 million was unspent capital that was carried over for spending in 2023 while the balance of €247 million was surrendered.”
13.30: Housing and Local Government - consideration of the Citizens’ Assembly report on the directly elected mayor of Dublin. Chambers of Commerce have been invited in for discussion.
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