I am struggling to comply with the orders of the House to stay within the time limits.

The programme for Government states the Government will honour its commitment to recognise the state of Palestine. Today President Trump is expected to announce his intention to formally recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US embassy there. That is in flagrant breach of the international consensus on a two-state solution. Will the Taoiseach urge President Trump not to take this provocative decision? The French President did so in a telephone call and has insisted on the status of Jerusalem being part of the peace negotiations and a two-state solution. The situation of the Palestinian people gets worse every single day. Their lives are rooted in deepening fear and constantly changing at the whim of the Israeli authorities. In keeping with the decision of the Oireachtas three years ago, will the Government agree to formally recognise the state of Palestine? Will it also move to upgrade the Palestinian mission to that of a full embassy?

The House might be interested in noting that I made direct contact yesterday with the US embassy to express our real concern at the suggestion of the US President to formally recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I made the point very clearly that, in our view, such a decision would be very unhelpful in trying to progress a stable peace process in the Middle East and also cause a lot of unnecessary tension. The messages which have come from much of the Arab world and a number of European countries reinforce that view. I reassure the Deputy that we have made the Irish view on this issue very clear. Ireland is very interested in being constructive and helpful in supporting a new initiative in the Middle East, should that happen. If the reports are true and confirmed today, it would be a step backwards. We have made the view of the Irish Government very clear.

What about the recognition of the state of Palestine?

I will come back to the Deputy on that matter.