Simon Harris defends stance on Palestine and accuses Israel of genocide
The Government has been pressured to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, introduce powers to remove the Irish Central Bank's role in allowing the sale of Israel Bonds in the EU, and to stop flights reportedly carrying munitions to the Middle East from passing through Ireland.
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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
EU cannot ignore what's happening in Poland and The Netherlands
The apparent collapse of the Dutch coalition government – caused by Geert Wilders withdrawing his party's support over the issue of migration and asylum seeking – is another indication that there are very dark clouds on the horizon for the European continent's future and security. Taken together with the results of the Polish presidential election , political developments and prospects in a growing number of member states of the EU and in Britain, this collapse is confirmation both of polarising populist politics and evaporating underlying consensus among voters. This is the case across all of the continent's democracies – which represents a dangerous weakening in the face of threats from Putin's Russia and naked hostility from Trump's America. It is obvious from the demands made by Russia at the Istanbul conference that Putin is seeking not just to redefine the Russian-Ukrainian border by force, but also to enforce a form of political capitulation and Moscow hegemony on what he hopes will be a defeated satellite Ukraine and its impotent European allies. Washington's position has been cowardly, deceitful and evasive at best. The evidence is growing that Trump's foreign policy is nothing but shape-throwing and the growls of a paper tiger, which quieten into purring when confronted by adversity. Trump is increasingly concerned about the latest label applied to him by his critics: Taco. That is an acronym for 'Trump always chickens out'. READ MORE His critics point out that belligerent threats made on the international stage – whether directed at Afghanistan's Taliban, North Korea 's atomic missile programme or Iran's nuclear programme – have all been followed by climbdowns. The feeble Houthis alone have felt US armed intervention, and then only from the lofty or distant safety of airborne cockpits. In the course of the Shangri-La Asian summit in Singapore, Trump's defence secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the Asia-Pacific region was now the main focus of US security concerns – signalling a demotion of the North Atlantic alliance as a buttress of American foreign policy. Ominously, he stated that any Chinese invasion of Taiwan by the year 2027 would 'result in devastating consequences' and reminded China that Trump had said that Taiwan would not be invaded 'on his watch'. He said the US wanted to make the 'costs' for China 'too high' and to deter an invasion by executing peace through strength – 'overt and covert'. I say 'ominously' because Hegseth's words were deliberately ambiguous, and less clear in intent than Biden's pledge to defend Taiwan. Devastating consequences were last threatened on North Korea in Trump's first term – only to evaporate in pathetic theatrics at a Singapore summit where 'nice' thoughts and words were exchanged with Kim Jong Un. Since then, North Korea has backed the Russian invasion of Ukraine – all the while developing its intercontinental ballistic missile programme and nuclear capability. A case, surely, of impunity met by Taco. Trump's cabinet members, however, seem to have been given licence to interfere in electoral debate in Europe. They have been openly supportive of the Alternative for Germany, George Simion in Romania , Nigel Farage in Britain and Karol Nawrocki in Poland. Nawrocki's victory is not at all a disaster for the EU but it is a wake-up call for the EU's federalist-leaning elite. In football language, they have lost the changing room. As long as the member states continue to accord competence to the incompetent EU in asylum seeking and migration matters, the decline in European cohesion will continue and, most likely, accelerate. This reality is dawning on the member states – if not in Brussels. There is a growing recognition that adherence to the outdated refugee conventions at the level of EU law and European Convention on Human Rights obligations in the face of international migration patterns is simply unsustainable politically, economically and socially. Like the Austrian chancellor and other member state leaders have done, publicly calling for change is the first priority for an EU struggling externally to face such hostility, overt and covert, from Moscow and Washington. Opposition is also coming internally from the union's own electorates. Even Keir Starmer sees the reality of uncontrolled migration from a British perspective. The matter is urgent. Schengen has been in a state of de facto part suspension. The EU is a treaty-based entity that is sustained by the principle of conferral; it is not a sovereign entity. The collective error of conferring policy competence on the EU in these areas is now clear to the member states; they can act together to repatriate legal and policy competence in these areas to the member states. [ Michael McDowell: Migration policy is the EU's biggest weakness and Donald Trump is aiming to exploit it Opens in new window ] The heady days when Angela Merkel could demand open refugee access, not alone to Germany but to all member states on the basis of burden-sharing, are politically over. Peter Sutherland 's sobriquet of 'heroine' bestowed by him on Merkel when he was UN special representative for international migration is a fading memory. Fundamental change is not merely possible or probable; it is becoming an existential necessity.
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
State still missing targets despite 70pc of new vehicles bought last year being electric
Analysis by transport management firm Geotab shows that while the public sector is setting the pace for replacement of petrol and diesel with electric, it still has a long way to go. At the end of last year, 782 of a total of 13,058 state-owned vehicles were fully electric – up from 550 in 2023. It is a significant improvement on 2019, when the Government first set a target for EV adoption for the whole country. It emerged at the time that just 13 state-owned cars were electric. Since then, the percentage of the fleet that is powered by electricity has grown from 1.1pc in 2020 to 1.7pc in 2021, 2.6pc in 2022, 4.3pc in 2023 and 6pc in 2024. However, the fleet has also almost doubled in size in that period, so there are now more petrol and diesel cars to replace. Across the country, the proportion of fully electric vehicles on Irish roads is around just 3pc. Buying electric also made better financial sense, with a possible saving of €12,900 per vehicle over a seven-year period 'While the latest figures on the increasing number of EVs in the state fleet make for positive reading, there is still a long way to go in terms of adoption of zero-emission vehicles,' said Oliver Holt of Geotab. 'The Public Sector Climate Action Mandate has clearly been a positive influence, but significant momentum now needs to be built whereby vehicles are being proactively replaced as opposed to waiting for procurement cycles in order for the change to finally happen.' The mandate requires government departments and state bodies to buy only zero-emission vehicles wherever possible. It was drawn up to set an example for the rest of the country, to ensure taxpayers' money was being spent on cleaner options and to help boost supply in the second-hand EV market. Geotab analysis found buying electric also made better financial sense, with a possible saving of €12,900 per vehicle over a seven-year period. Under the country's first Climate Action Plan, published in 2019, the aim was to have 945,000 EVs by 2030. Latest indications are that the very best that might be achieved by then if there is a rapid acceleration in switching from petrol and diesel is 640,750.
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
US-backed Gaza aid group to halt distribution, UN to hold ceasefire vote
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will not give out any aid as it presses Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites, a day after dozens of Palestinians seeking aid were killed. The GHF said it has asked the Israeli military to "guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalating risks" near military perimeters; develop clearer guidance for civilians; and enhance training to support civilian safety. "Our top priority remains ensuring the safety and dignity of civilians receiving aid," said a GHF spokesperson. An Israeli military spokesperson warned civilians against moving in areas leading to GHF sites, deeming them "combat zones". The Israeli military said that it opened fire on a group of people it viewed as a threat near a GHF food aid distribution site. The International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 27 people were killed and dozens injured. The GHF said the incident was "well beyond" its site. Palestinians who collected food GHF boxes described scenes of pandemonium, with no-one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs, as crowds jostled for aid. The UN Security Council is also set to vote on a demand for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas and humanitarian access across Gaza, where aid has trickled amid chaos and bloodshed after Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on the enclave where famine looms. "It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking – and in several instances losing – their lives just trying to get food," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, adding that the aid distribution model backed by the US and Israel was "a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what is going on." That model is run by the newly created GHF, which started operations in the enclave a week ago and said yesterday that it has given out more than seven million meals from three so-called secure distribution sites. GHF Interim Executive Director John Acree urged humanitarians in Gaza: "Work with us and we will get your aid delivered to those who are depending on it." US VETO? The UN and other aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and the distribution model militarises aid. GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get aid to the distribution sites. It is the latest in a string of efforts to get more aid into the enclave, where experts say the entire population of some 2.1 million people is at risk of famine. Jordan last year spearheaded humanitarian air drops, while the US briefly installed a floating aid pier, but it was beset by challenges. The UN has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. Israel said that three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in northern Gaza. Gaza health officials said at least 18 more Palestinians were killed in other military strikes in the territory. Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza. The ten elected members of the UN Security Council have asked for the 15-member body to vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution that demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties." The draft text also demands the release of all hostages held by Hamas and others, and the immediate lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid and its safe and unhindered distribution, including by the UN, throughout Gaza. As US President Donald Trump's administration tries to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, it was not immediately clear if the US would veto the draft text. A spokesperson for the US mission to the UN said: "We cannot preview our actions currently under consideration." A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain or France - to pass. The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an 7 October attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities,which do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.
