Jane Matthews Reports from Paris

TAOISEACH MICHÉAL MARTIN has met US Vice President JD Vance for the first time, but did not get the opportunity to discuss any issues. 

The pair are among world leaders and tech heavyweights in Paris today for a French summit on artificial intelligence. 

Speaking to reporters this morning, Martin said he briefly spoke to Vance last night at a working meeting of world leaders and that the VP “spoke very fondly” of Ireland. 

Vance’s trip to Europe is his first official overseas trip since taking office last month and comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has gone even further in his rhetoric on Gaza. 

Yesterday, Trump said Israel should break the delicate ceasefire and threatened that “all hell” would break loose in Gaza if all Israeli hostages are not released by Hamas on Saturday.

These remarks came in response to Hamas accusing Israel of breaching the ceasefire and saying it would delay the release of Israeli hostages until further notice.

Trump also escalated his threat of taking over Gaza yesterday, saying he would “own” Gaza and permanently resettle its residents elsewhere.

The Taoiseach said today he was “taken back” by Trump’s threat on the ceasefire.

Asked today if he will use the opportunity of Vance being in Paris to put forward Ireland’s position on Gaza, the Taoiseach said there was no opportunity last night and that his interaction with Vance was merely a “courtesy exchange”.

“This morning is fundamentally about AI,” the Taoiseach said, adding he may not get an opportunity to meet Vance again today. 

“The important thing in respect of Gaza is that the ceasefire is upheld.

“The Hamas statement is not a good statement. Hamas should release the hostages,” the Taoiseach said, adding that the hostages are in a terrible condition.

He added that people living in Gaza are in need of a massive surge of aid and said fast action is needed to move to the second phase of the ceasefire deal and then the focus can be on reconstruction.

“Hamas need to be as conscious of that as anybody else. I was somewhat taken back by the announcement, but hopefully reading between the statement of what was said those hostages can be released on Saturday,” he said.

Asked if Trump comments about permanently displacing Palestinians in Gaza should be taken seriously, the Taoiseach said:

“As I say, I’m not going to do a running commentary every day on various statements that are made.

“The fundamental takeaways from the last month is we have a ceasefire, which is extremely important. We now need to ensure that that ceasefire holds and that both sides, the Israeli government and Hamas, honour their commitments under the ceasefire.”

The Taoiseach is in Paris for a summit on AI. Last night he briefly met US VP JD Vance for the first time.

His response when asked if he will use the opp. of Vance being here to put forward Ireland’s position on Gaza at a time when Trump has gone even further in his rhetoric: pic.twitter.com/2BZyhbOKDd

— Jane Matthews (@janeematthews) February 11, 2025

Pushback on regulation 

Vance spoke at the AI summit this morning, saying he wants to see a “deregulatory flavour” throughout the conference. 

“We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it is taking off,” Vance said.

He added that the Trump administration will work to ensure that US AI technology ”continues to be the gold standard worldwide”.

He also warned global leaders against striking AI deals with “authoritarian regimes”, in a thinly veiled jab against China.

“Partnering with them means chaining your nation to an authoritarian master that seeks to infiltrate, dig in and seize your information infrastructure,” he said.