‘I couldn't think of anything worse to attend': Some Opposition TDs snub invite to US Independence Day celebration
United States
embassy.
However, others are considering going due to the ties between Ireland and the US.
Invites have been issued to TDs and Senators for the event next week.
Labour
TD Conor Sheehan said: 'I will not be attending. I couldn't think of anything worse to attend'.
READ MORE
He accused the US of being involved in 'illegal wars overseas' and 'the persecution of people' through immigration raids.
Social Democrats
Senator Patricia Stephenson said: 'we won't be attending', adding: 'given the context of the US administration at this time it's not really appropriate'.
Green Party
leader
Roderic O'Gorman
said he did not attend the same event last year 'in light of the US continued support for what's happening in Gaza so I think it's probably unlikely I'll be in a position to attend'. Party colleague Senator
Malcolm Noonan
said: 'I've already declined.'
People Before Profit-Solidarity
TD Ruth Coppinger – who has been highly critical of US support for Israel's war in Gaza – said she is part of the Dublin 15 With Palestine Group and 'we'll be outside protesting because what's happening in the world is just incredible ... We would call on all TDs to boycott it'.
Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins said his party is not ruling out going to the event and will discuss the matter. He said 'if we shut the door', it would amount to 'lessening a chance of peace out there'. He also highlighted the importance of American companies employing people in Ireland.
Aontú leader
Peadar Tóibín
said he had to check his diary but 'we'll have no problem attending'.
He said Ireland and the US have a 'phenomenal relationship' and while people may have a difference of opinion with Donald Trump's administration 'there's no doubt in my mind that we need to continue to build a positive relationship'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
27 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Israeli military preparing to move residents to southern Gaza, says spokesperson
Gaza residents will be provided with tents and other shelter equipment starting from Sunday before they are relocated from combat zones to 'safe' ones in the south of the enclave, the Israeli military said on Saturday. This comes days after Israel said it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave's largest urban centre, in a plan that raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, home to about 2.2 million people. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that before launching the offensive, the civilian population will be evacuated to what he described as 'safe zones' from Gaza City, which he called Hamas' last stronghold. The shelter equipment will be transferred via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza by the United Nations and other international relief organisations after being inspected by defence ministry personnel, the military said. READ MORE The military declined to comment when asked whether the shelter equipment was intended for Gaza City's population estimated at around one million people presently, and whether the site to which they will be relocated in southern Gaza would be the area of Rafah, which borders Egypt. Israel's defence minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the plans for the new offensive were still being formulated. However, Israeli forces have already increased operations on the outskirts of Gaza City over the past week. Residents in the neighbourhoods of Zeitorun and Shejaia have reported heavy Israeli aerial and tank fire which has destroyed many houses. The Israeli military on Friday said that it had begun a new operation in Zeitun to locate explosives, destroy tunnels and kill militants in the area. The war began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7th, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities and 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are still alive. Israel's subsequent military assault against Hamas has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, Gaza's health ministry says. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced most of Gaza's population and left much of the enclave in ruins. Protests calling for a hostage release and an end to the war were expected throughout Israel on Sunday, with many businesses and universities saying they will strike for the day. Negotiations to secure a US-backed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release ended in deadlock last month and mediators Egypt and Qatar have been trying to revive them. – Reuters
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on Budget 2026: put the focus on what is important
Over the next couple of weeks, as the Autumn political season starts to kick in, debate on October's budget will get underway in earnest. As ever, there will be a cacophony of demands from interest groups and lobbyists, looking for more spending or lower taxes for their particular cause. The job of the Government, of course, is to look through the noise to what is important. Despite the generous amount of €9.4 billion set aside for budget measures, this will not be easy. Money will be quickly eaten up through spending pressures in providing State services. Plans to hike vital investment expenditure need to be allowed for. And the demands on the table already would take up the €1.5 billion set aside for tax reductions a few times over. Yet while the choices will be sharp in some areas, context is needed. This is not shaping up to be a 'tough' budget. The promised package is still nearly three times the size of the last pre-Covid budget in 2019. The first job of the Government, indeed, is to start returning annual budgets to more sustainable levels, reducing them from the huge spending rises required during Covid-19 and to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. Claims that households are still squeezed need to be met in two ways. One is by appropriate increases in welfare and other support packages. The other is by continuing to improve the provision of services in areas such as health, education and childcare. These are much more effective in the longer-term than another round of universal cash supports. But by engaging in a blatant pre-election manoeuvre last year to repeat these 'once-off' supports again, Ministers have created a rod for their own back this time around. READ MORE Statements from Ministers that there would be no cost-of-living package this time appear to have become more equivocal in recent weeks. But giving a lot of money out again through these payments to all households is an inefficient use of State cash. If the Government does not bring this process to an end in the first budget of its new term, then – barring a big squeeze on the State finances – it never will. The plan to increase vital State investment is a key reason why there needs to be some restraint elsewhere. Realistic budgeting for the provision of State services also needs to be restored, ending the annual overruns in areas like health. Relying on corporate tax to keep outperforming as a way to pay for spending coming in ahead of target each year is not a good strategy. The other reason for caution is the uncertainty faced due to the policies of Donald Trump. Despite the trade deal between the EU and US, the economic and political backdrop for Ireland remains risky and unpredictable. Having cash in reserve and pursuing a strategic approach have seldom looked more important.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Presidential election: Seán Kelly to ‘weigh up options' about seeking Fine Gael nomination
Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly says 'the goalposts have changed' and he is reconsidering seeking a nomination from his party to contest the presidential election later this year. Former MEP Mairead McGuinness had been chosen as Fine Gael's candidate, and was regarded as a front-runner, but this week withdrew from the campaign on health grounds . Mr Kelly, a former GAA president, ruled himself out of the running in early July, which he said was the 'most difficult decision' of his political life, but on Saturday said 'the goalposts have changed' following the announcement regarding Ms McGuinness. He told Newstalk's Anton Savage Show he had not sought to be nominated as Fine Gael's candidate earlier this year, but would now 'weigh up all the options'. READ MORE 'When circumstances change, then obviously you have to look at things in a different light,' he said, adding that he has 'complete sympathy' for Ms McGuinness. The Ireland South MEP said Fine Gael would have a meeting in the coming days to decide its strategy and then 'I'll see what I will do after that'. 'There is a need to see what the national executive wants to do next week.' Former minister Heather Humphreys did not run in last year's general election, but has emerged as a favoured candidate among the Fine Gael parliamentary party. She said in May she was not interested in running for president, but there are hopes within her party that she may be open to changing her mind. Asked if he was concerned that Ms Humphreys might already have the necessary support sewn up, Mr Kelly said: 'I don't think it has even reached the stage where they're contemplating who to run because they are all showing respect for Mairead. 'I think next week will be time enough to reflect properly on that and take action. There's no rush, so then let's take it as it comes.' Mr Kelly said that if he enters the race he will be doing so 'to win it'. Frances Fitzgerald , a former MEP and minister for justice, on Friday said she did not intend to contest the election to succeed Michael D Higgins . Independent Galway West TD Catherine Connolly is currently the only candidate who has the required support to contest the election.
