TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said Ireland will not be expelling any ambassadors amid calls by People Before Profit (PBP) for Ireland to cut diplomatic ties with Israel.

The Taoiseach was responding to PBP TD Richard Boyd Barrett who asked during Leaders’ Questions ”How many innocent Palestinian civilians does Israel have to slaughter” before Ireland imposes sanctions on Israel and expels the ambassador.

In response, the Taoiseach said Ireland would not be expelling the ambassador and said when it comes to sanctions, Ireland always acts multilaterally as individual ones “are not effective”. 

“They would have no benefit for the Palestinians. They might even just do us a degree of harm. Sanctions are only effective when they’re imposed multilaterally by states acting together,” Varadkar said. 

In relation to the ambassador, the Taoiseach said “we have no plans to expel any ambassador.”

“We didn’t expel the Russian ambassador. And I don’t think there’s anyone in this house that has been as supportive of Ukraine’s battle for freedom as I have, but we took a very particular view that it’s important to have some line of communications open and that’s why we have ambassadors.

“If you expel an ambassador or close an embassy, the only line of communication is minister to minister or Sec Gen to Sec Gen, and that’s if you can even get a phone call.

“We have citizens in Palestine, we have citizens in Israel, we have citizens in Russia, it’s important that we’re able to keep those lines of communication open. It serves nothing to close them,” the Taoiseach said.

He added: “Even countries at war with each other have ambassadors, for obvious reasons.”

Meanwhile, while in Dublin this afternoon at the Global Ireland Summit, Tánaiste Micheál Martin also commented on the Israeli-Hamas war and spoke of how partnerships and the “adherence to existing rules and agreements” are the solutions to the global challenges the world faces.

Martin says Israel has a right to defend itself - but it must do so within the parameters of the law.

‘Rules and systems are being tested severely,’ he says. #globalirelandsummit pic.twitter.com/8coh9x08jF

— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) October 24, 2023

Martin said rules and systems are being tested “severely” and said while Israel has a right to defend itself, it must do so within the parameters of law.

Concerns over Israeli embassy

The Taoiseach’s comments today, come as opposition TDs have expressed concern over comments made by Israel’s Ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, in which she said President Michael D Higgins was repeating “misinformation” in relation to the Israel-Hamas war. 

Labour leader Ivana Bacik said this, and a now-deleted social media post by a senior staff member of the embassy – in which the diplomat suggested Ireland was funding Hamas – are examples of the need to hear from the government on Ireland’s approach to Gaza at international level.

Similarly, People Before Profit has written to the Ceann Comhairle and requested that time be made in the Dáil this week for a debate on the actions of the Israeli embassy.