There has never been a more important time to elect a President who will be Independent and represent Ireland with pride, courage and integrity
Archiv: Irland / Ireland
Catherine Connolly elected 10th president of Ireland in landslide victory
Independent TD Catherine Connolly has been elected Ireland’s 10th president in a landslide victory, winning 63 per cent of the vote.
The Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys won less than half that figure, with 29 per cent of the first-preference vote.
Ireland says Israel’s seizure of flotilla vessels ‘very concerning’
“Our focus now is on assisting citizens immediately impacted and their families. This will be the priority for our team over the coming hours,” the ministry said, adding that Ireland’s embassy in Tel Aviv is in contact with relevant authorities alongside other EU member states.
SF senator among Irish on intercepted aid flotilla boats
At least four Irish citizens were on board six Global Sumud Flotilla vessels which have been interecpted and detained by the Israeli Navy tonight.
Two of the Irish citizens were on the Sirius and one was on the Alma.
Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews was on board the Spectre vessel which was boarded by Israeli military personnel, his party confirmed.
Joint Statement of Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Norway: A renewed commitment for the implementation of the two State solution
One year after the official recognition of the State of Palestine by Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain, in the framework of the ‘Madrid+’ Group of the meeting, we have met to renew and reinforce the international commitment for the implementation of the two-State solution and to the principle that only a viable, contiguous Palestinian State, with internationally recognised borders, comprised of Gaza and the West Bank and with East Jerusalem as its capital, can fully satisfy the legitimate national aspirations and the needs of peace and security of both the people of Palestine and Israel.
This commitment has had an undeniable impact on the international dynamics regarding the conflict in Gaza, creating momentum for the implementation of the two-State solution.
After many years of stagnation, implementation of the two State solution and recognition of Palestine is not only morally right, but it also produced the necessary momentum to revive the spirit of the implementation of the two-State solution. In September 2024 in the United Nations, the international community agreed on the creation of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State solution. Its meetings have, in this spirit, strived to make the two-State reality possible.
The momentum that was created in May last year, ultimately culminated on 10th December 2024, when the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution A/RES/79/81, which called for a High Level Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. We believe that this High Level Conference, to be held on 17th June 2025 under UN auspices and co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, represents not only the occasion with the highest degree of international legitimacy, but also the appropriate framework in which to finally advance the implementation of the two-State solution.
Irish PM says Gaza is ‚hell on earth‘
Ireland‘s Taoiseach Micheál Martin called the situation in Gaza ‘hell on earth’. He told The Europe Conversation that Israel is committing war crimes, and criticised the EU’s lack of response. Food and medicine have been blocked from entering the besieged area for almost 60 days.
Netanyahu’s flight to US takes a different route to evade ICC arrest warrant: Report
According to the report from Haaretz, Israel believed that Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands could have acted to enforce the warrant.
Government has not been ‘hostile’ to Israel – Tánaiste
Mr Martin, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs, said supporting the ICJ and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, should not be viewed as a hostile act.
“Recognising a state of Palestine, which we did with Norway and Spain and which other countries have done, is not a hostile act, and should not be seen as a hostile act,” he said.
The actions of the Israeli army in northern Gaza, where there are daily reports of the killing of men, women and children, is “beyond any moral compass,” Mr Martin said.
Why Israel is closing its embassy in Ireland and what will happen next
In May 2024, Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, formally recognised the Palestinian state. This decision led to Israel recalling its ambassadors from Ireland, Norway and Spain.
In October 2024, the Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, announced plans to pass the Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban trade between Ireland and illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. This statement follows an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July that said states are under “an obligation to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel” in the territories.
Five EU Nations Likely To Recognise Statehood For Palestine; Unhappy Israel Dubs Stance ‚Prize For Terrorism‘
Watch as EU‘s Foreign Policy Chief reveals at the World Economic Forum that five EU members, including Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Slovenia, and Malta, may recognize Palestinian statehood by the end of May.
Ireland pledges $21.5M to UNRWA; but as major Western donors cut aid, UNRWA will need to halt its services for the 2+ million Palestinian refugees in Jordan & Lebanon by March • No aid trucks w/ essential goods has passed through Egypt’s Rafah crossing since Feb 4, …
(16.02.2024)
…while
there’ve been deliberate delays at Israel’s Karem Abu Salem crossing
Among South Africa‘s legal team for its case against Israel at the ICJ, Irish lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh. She has, among many other achievements, successfully represented the Colston Four and served as a legal observer at Bloody Sunday Inquiry.
International recognition of the State of Palestine: No diplomatic recognition
Andorra …
Armenia …
Australia …
Austria …
Barbados …
Belgium …
Cameroon …
Canada …
Croatia …
Denmark …
Eritrea …
Estonia …
Fiji …
Finland …
France …
Germany …
Greece …
Ireland …
Israel …
Italy …
Jamaica …
Japan …
Kiribati …
Latvia …
Liechtenstein …
Lithuania …
Luxembourg …
Marshall Islands …
Mexico …
Federated States of Micronesia …
Moldova …
Monaco …
Myanmar …
Nauru …
Netherlands …
New Zealand …
North Macedonia …
Norway …
Palau …
Panama …
Portugal …
Samoa …
San Marino …
Singapore …
Slovenia …
Solomon Islands …
South Korea …
Spain …
Switzerland …
The Bahamas …
Tonga …
Trinidad and Tobago …
Tuvalu …
United Kingdom …
United States …
Ireland will co-sponsor ?? resolution on #Gaza at UN Security Council today, demanding: – Immediate humanitarian ceasefire. – Protection of civilians & compliance with int. law. – Immediate & unconditional release of hostages. – Urgent humanitarian access.
The Council must act
Die EZB hebt Zinsen weiter an. Das Resultat weiter steigender Zinsen aber könnte die Wirtschaft in Deutschland noch stärker unter Druck bringen. Vor allem für die deutsche Industrie weisen alle Indikatoren weiter nach unten.
(…)
Sahel Alliance
In July 2017, France, Germany and the European Union, along with the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched the Sahel Alliance, an international cooperation platform to do more and better in the Sahel region. Since its launch, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, the European Investment Bank, Norway, Sweden, the United States and Canada have joined the initiative as full members.
The Sahel Alliance has also 9 observer members: Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, the International Finance Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Ireland and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
Protest to end all remaining restrictions, Garden of Remembrance, Dublin, Ireland
Neues irisches Gesetz: Digitale Passwörter der Polizei offenlegen oder bis zu 30.000 € Strafe zahlen
Nach einer neuen Gesetzgebung wird die irische Polizei die Macht haben, Menschen zu zwingen, Passwörter zu elektronischen Geräten offenzulegen. Die irischen Behörden haben die COVID-19-Lockdown-Maßnahmen als Grund für die zunehmende Digitalisierung der Kriminalität angegeben und damit die Notwendigkeit der Gesetzgebung begründet.
Netherlands joins growing list of EU nations to suspend use of AstraZeneca jab over blood clot fears as Bloc’s battle against virus falters with new lockdown in Italy and cases spiking in France with hospitals over-run
It comes as Dutch voters deliver their verdict on the country‘s coronavirus response in the first of three days of voting in a snap election, weeks after a curfew prompted three nights of rioting across major cities.
The Netherlands is the fifth country to pause its roll-out, following Ireland, Denmark, Iceland and Norway. Italy and Austria stopped using one particular batch of the jab.
Gewaltsame Proteste gegen Corona-Lockdown in Irland
Hunderte Menschen haben am Samstag in der irischen Hauptstadt Dublin teils gewaltsam gegen die Lockdown-Maßnahmen in dem Land demonstriert. Zu Zusammenstößen mit der Polizei kam es nach Angaben der irischen Rundfunksenders RTÉ, als Demonstranten versuchten, zu einem zentral gelegenen Park durchzudringen.
Sabine Weyand was Michel Barnier’s number 2 in the Brexit negotiations. If she is responsible for triggering Art. 16, it’s not credible to suggest she didn’t understand its implications.
‘I regret that article 16 was mentioned’: Von der Leyen statement in full
Below are the responses in full from European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to questions posed by Irish Times Europe Correspondent Naomi O’Leary.
Covid-19 vaccine chaos as EU is forced into U-turn after blocking supplies to the North
A government source said the Taoiseach had not been given any advance warning of the EU decision to invoke the article in the protocol.
The source said the article may have been inadvertently triggered by “someone who did not understand the political implications” of the decision.
Some EU officials are understood to be livid about the move, which they see as ruining the work they’ve done since the Brexit vote in 2016.
EU backs down on plan to control export of Covid-19 vaccines across Border into North amid outcry
In a steep escalation of the EU’s fight to secure vaccine supplies, Brussels had said it would trigger clauses in the Northern Irish Protocol in the EU-UK withdrawal agreement to control shots moving across the open Border between the State and the North. It said this plan aimed to prevent the movement of vaccines onwards into the rest of the UK via a Northern Ireland “backdoor”, while preserving the capacity to allow shipments into the North.
EU withdraws threat to trigger Article 16 of Northern Ireland Protocol
It comes after the bloc invoked part of the Northern Ireland Protocol in an attempt to stop vaccines made in the EU from getting into the UK through the back door.
The protocol, which is part of the Brexit deal, allows goods from the EU to be exported to Northern Ireland without checks.
However the EU triggered Article 16 of the protocol tonight to slap temporary export controls on vaccines sent to Northern Ireland.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British leader Boris Johnson had an unexpected phone call, during which the UK PM “expressed his grave concerns about the potential impact which the steps the EU has taken today on vaccine exports could have
Ireland. Just had a 16 Billion Euro COVID bill, that it gets 1.5 back from. Waits patiently for the EMA to approve its vaccines. No sign of the EMA approving Oxford any time soon. 2009 – gets another Lisbon ref, whilst being threatened with perdition. „Independence“
Brexit-Änderungen: Unterhaus nimmt umstrittenes Gesetz an
Trotz aller Warnungen hat das britische Unterhaus für das umstrittene Binnenmarktgesetz gestimmt, mit dem Großbritannien Teile des bereits gültigen Brexit-Deals mit der EU aushebeln will. Bei 340 zu 256 Stimmen brachte Premier Boris Johnson das Gesetz am Dienstagabend mit einer klaren Mehrheit durch das Londoner Parlament.
‚Absolutely no chance‘ of border coming back says Micheál Martin
The Taoiseach made clear he was assured by Downing Street that they are committed to implementing the protocol and not undermining the Good Friday Agreement.
Datentransfers: EU-Gericht zerschlägt Privacy Shield
Das höchste Gericht urteilt nun, dass die Standardvertragsklauseln von Facebook weiterhin gelten dürften. Allerdings erteilt der EuGH der laxen Rechtsauffassung der irischen Datenschutzbehörde eine Rüge.
Who is in the new Cabinet? Members in profile
A new Taoiseach was elected on Saturday and a range of new Ministers were appointed. Here’s all you need to know about them:
Schwierige Koalitionsbildung: Martin ist neuer Regierungschef Irlands
Größte Oppositionspartei wird damit die linksgerichtete Sinn Fein unter der Führung von Mary Lou McDonald. Die Partei hatte bei der Wahl im Februar einen Überraschungserfolg erzielt und damit die politische Landschaft verändert. Sinn Fein spielte lange Zeit in der Republik Irland keine ernstzunehmende Rolle, sondern galt als politischer Arm der Untergrundorganisation IRA.
Varadkar resigns as Irish government enters stalemate
Varadkar submitted his resignation to Michael D Higgins, the president of Ireland, on Thursday night after a tempestuous but inconclusive sitting of Dáil Éireann, which met for the first time since the 8 February election. It adjourned until 5 March, giving party leaders three weeks to try to form a ruling coalition.