Yesterday, Joseph Kent, who was the director of national counterterrorism in the United States and a senior official in the American Administration, resigned over Donald Trump’s war against Iran. In his letter of resignation, he stated that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation” and attempts to justify the war were lies. He described the war as one manufactured by Israel.

That war, since Trump and the Israeli regime commenced it, has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 innocent Iranian people, including 160 schoolgirls who were wiped out in one attack. In Lebanon, 900 people have been murdered by the Israelis. As we speak, Beirut is being bombed to bits in one of the worst reigns of death and destruction inflicted by Israel on the people of Lebanon for a very long time. Almost 800,000 people have been displaced and there are now real fears that we are going to see a repeat of the genocidal horrors that we have seen in Gaza for the past two years happening in southern Lebanon. As if all that death, destruction and horror being visited on people in Iran and Lebanon and the genocide in Gaza is not enough, every single working person in this country and across the world is now paying a direct economic price from their pocket with the cost of home heating oil, petrol and other fuel having gone up, all as a result of Trump and Israel's war. I repeat that Israel is a regime that is in the dock for genocide and in the International Criminal Court. The Taoiseach of this country sat beside Donald Trump yesterday, handed him a bowl of shamrock and celebrated our national day with this warmonger even though, as Taoiseach, he has repeatedly claimed that this country is committed to international law. Yet, not a single word of criticism of the flagrant murderous breaches of international law in which Trump and Israel are engaged. At one point, I thought he was going to say it when he said we cannot have rogue regimes possessing nuclear weapons. I thought he was talking about Israel, which, of course, has nuclear weapons and will not even sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, or about the United States, the only country in the world that has ever used them and which has launched this illegal war. But no, our Taoiseach was leaning into the justification that Trump has used to justify this murderous war. How can the Minister possibly stand over the Taoiseach's failure to condemn the flagrant breaches of international law and the illegal war in the White House yesterday and continue to-----

Thank you Deputy. Allow the Minister to respond.

-----extend facilities to the US military at Shannon Airport in breach of our neutrality?

I thank the Deputy for his question. I am surprised he started with an invocation of Joseph Kent, who is one of the leaders of the MAGA movement in the United States of America.

It is because even they can see it.

It is just curious that the Deputy should happen to rely upon him and quote what he said.

What does that mean?

I repeat what I said to Deputy Bacik, which is that what the Taoiseach did yesterday in the White House was extremely important from Ireland and Europe's point of view. We are, as the Deputy will know, at a particularly important time in the geopolitical relationship between the United States and Europe. A very significant break has taken place in that relationship, which has existed for ever 100 years. The focus of that the break is in NATO. As I said earlier, there was a real benefit that the Taoiseach was out there as the leader of a European country that is not a member of NATO, but he was able to emphasise the importance Ireland places on the rules-based system and the international order. That is in our Constitution. We have consistently done that. We have consistently had a record of being a country that believes in the peaceful resolution of disputes, not the resolution of disputes through military force. The Taoiseach has to deal with the circumstances with which he is faced. Obviously, if Deputy Boyd Barrett was Taoiseach, he would not have gone to the United States-----

No.

-----and that is very clear. He would not have gone. I know Deputy Bacik would not have gone-----

Not to the Oval Office.

In fairness, Deputies McDonald and Cairns would have gone, so I wish them well when they are in government together deciding whether they will go to the United States next year or whenever they are in government.

The end is nigh.

Deputy Boyd Barrett would not have gone. There is a real benefit in the Taoiseach going there and being able to speak out frankly, more so than any other international leaders who have been there recently have done. The Taoiseach was able to speak out in respect of Keir Starmer-----

Wow. I did not know that was our job.

-----in respect of immigration and in respect of Ireland's view that we should resolve disputes through pacific methods. We cannot emphasise that enough. However, the reality is that in politics, as I am sure the Deputy is aware, self-awareness is an important characteristic.

It applies to all of us individually. It also applies to us as a country. Ireland is a small, non-military country. What we say is effective, in terms of the diplomacy we have and standing up to people who are our friends and telling them that we think they have gone down the wrong road in what they are doing.

He did not say that.

Ireland has a strong voice. The Taoiseach emphasises that. The Deputy just saw what was stated in front of the cameras yesterday. There is ongoing engagement between ambassadors and diplomats in the United States. Nobody wants to see these disputes resolved through force. I agree with Deputy Carthy when he said that no-one ever achieved anything from bombing a country. He was right in that respect, notwithstanding the irony of it. Similarly, we need to emphasise to the United States that there is no long-term solution through bombing Iran because that is not going to achieve the political objectives that are sought.

I would have gone to the United States and I would have stood with people like Mamdani, who reminded us of our own history of opposition to colonialism and war. I certainly would not stand beside a warmonger like Trump, who is ripping up the international legal rule book to pursue a bloody and murderous war against Iran, and is co-operating with Israel, which is in the dock for genocide and is bombing the hell out of Lebanon. Our Taoiseach cannot even bring himself to condemn this, even when it is imposing an economic cost on every single person in this country and across the world. He also continues to facilitate US troops going through Shannon Airport. In just one day, on 15 March, four US troop carriers went through Shannon. Is the Minister telling me they are not involved in the bloody carnage that Trump and the Israelis are inflicting across the Middle East right now? Imagine if a Taoiseach went and handed shamrock to Vladimir Putin and did not say a word about the murderous invasion of Ukraine and allowed Russian troops into Shannon Airport while the invasion was going on. There would be justifiable outrage, yet that is what the Taoiseach did with Trump yesterday despite his warmongering.

The Deputy mentioned the Mayor of New York, Mamdani. Of course, he did go to the White House. He is not refusing to meet President Trump as a result of what has happened in Iran. The Deputy's position is not consistent when it comes to engagement. The Irish Government believes there should be engagement with people when it comes to seeking to resolve disputes. The Deputy's view is to stay away from it. We believe, when you look at the history of Ireland and what we have achieved, that we are much better off engaging with people, particularly our friends. He also mentioned what is happening at Shannon Airport. The issue of what is happening in the Middle East is happening in the eastern Mediterranean. That is where the aircraft carriers from the United States are based. All foreign military or state aircraft wishing to overfly or land in the State require diplomatic clearance. The Deputy's charge against the Irish Government is incorrect. It is at times like this that our neutrality-----

You do not search the planes. You refuse to search the planes.

-----stands to us, and the fact that we are not a member of NATO stands to us. I again commend the Taoiseach for the great performance he put up yesterday.

Before I move on, I welcome the ladies in the Gallery who are here from County Carlow as guests of the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor.