Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 April 2024
133. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the reasons the Government is willing to recognise the independence of Palestine but not the independence of Taiwan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17199/24]
View answerIreland, together with our EU partners, adheres to the One China Policy. This means that we do not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. We recognise the People’s Republic of China as the legal representative of China. However, this does not preclude the development of economic, cultural, and people-to-people connections with Taiwan; nor the meaningful participation of Taiwan in relevant multilateral fora. The European Union is represented in Taiwan by the European Economic and Trade office, which seeks to strengthen economic and trade relations with Taiwan. There has been a Taipei Representative Office in Dublin since 1988.
With regard to recognition of Palestine, the Programme for Government states that the Government will “honour our commitment to recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or, in advance of that, when we believe doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-State solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory”. Ireland has maintained intensive dialogue with partners on how the formal recognition of a Palestinian state could be a catalyst to help the people of Gaza and the West Bank. The Taoiseach spoke about this topic when he met with Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez last Friday. Both leaders agreed to coordinate efforts to recognise a Palestinian state alongside a number of likeminded countries”.
