It’s a first of sorts. Where two different taoisigh visit the White House in the course of a calendar year and meet Joe Biden in the Oval Office.
The prospect of a visit to the White House is something of a coup for Simon Harris and from a selfish party perspective, it will give him optimum publicity at the perfect time in the run-up to the general election. That’s if the general election happens in November. Which it will. Probably.
As Jennifer Bray reports from New York, Harris’s trip comes on foot of an invitation to mark a centenary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and the US.
He will travel to Washington DC next month, with the exact date of the trip not yet disclosed. He continues with a programme of bilateral meetings with world leaders at the UN general assembly in New York.
Interesting historical fact. The US was the first country to recognise Ireland’s place among the nations of the world.
Biden appeals to Israel
Meanwhile, the Israeli slaughter in Lebanon continues with a further day of ceaseless bombardment on Tuesday. The death toll from two days of bomb strikes from the air has now risen to almost 560.
To put that in context, the number of dead is already at half the number of the month-long war in 2006 between Israel and Hizbullah after only two days.
In his United Nations general assembly speech Biden again appealed for restraint from both sides. Yet, all of the US imprecations to Israel over the past year have met downright refusal.
“A diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, remains the only path to lasting security,” Biden told the assembly.
“Full scale war is not in anyone’s interest,” he added.
But the Israel-Lebanon crisis is now on the brink.
Meanwhile, Israel has come out with its cheap propaganda – that Hizbullah is using civilians as human shields – to justify its indiscriminate killing of people, including at least 50 children in Lebanon. Arab lives do not have much currency in the mindset of those who govern Israel, or support those who govern.
Speaking outside UN headquarters, Tánaiste Micheál Martin told Jennifer Bray and others the Irish troops in Lebanon are safe.
He added the Government was “taking all precautions” to keep them that way.
“Our thoughts are with our soldiers in what is a very difficult environment to operate within,” he said.
Call in George Smiley quick
Jack Horgan-Jones came up with a slam-dunk yarn about Fianna Fáil TDs breaking ranks with their Coalition partners and pre-announcing sports grants.
Sports grants are like a Late Late Show giveaway. There is no downside. There is nothing grander for a TD to be able to tell a local sports club that it’s been given tens of thousands of quid to help develop its pitch or a hall or a court.
However, all is not well within the ranks of the Coalition. Fine Gael and the Green Party called foul and accused their Coalition colleagues of rushing out to blurt out the good news to their constituents.
There is one crispy paragraph in particular.
“A Fine Gael source claimed the party was made aware by a ‘mole’ that details had been circulated by Fianna Fáil representatives this afternoon, and in turn moved to publicise the funding decisions, with Green Party TDs also saying they believed Fianna Fáil were ‘breaking embargo to get a jump’, in the words of one party source.”
More fights over flights
The row simmers over the extent of the Government’s knowledge that Irish air space was used by airlines carrying military equipment to Israel.
As Marie O’Halloran and Jennifer Bray report, there was a row in the Dáil and Simon Harris also rowed in from New York, accusing Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald of “throwing mud”.
Nine potential flights this year have been identified by the Department of Transport of potentially breaking Irish aviation law, even though the Government has not yet got into a position to confirm for definite they were carrying military materiel. In fact, the Ditch has already confirmed it having gained access to manifests given to the Belgian aviation authorities.
Paschal Donohoe told the Dáil that no permission was given by Government to allow these flights pass. McDonald replied “that doesn’t take from the fact it appears that this has in fact happened”.
This row will continue.
Morning Reads
- Miriam Lord’s column has great lines as her scalpel cuts through the “learnings” the Government has got from the national children’s hospital debacle. Donohoe had an uncomfortable time responding to the questions of McDonald and Ivana Bacik.
- Pat Leahy reports that the slimmed down hate crime legislation will retain special protections for transgender and non-binary people.
- Cormac McQuinn reports that the Dublin city chief returning officer has told an Oireachtas committee about increasing difficulties in hiring staff for election counts.
- Michael McDowell, in his column, argues that the Dáil bike shed and the NCD are symptoms of a wider malaise.
- Sadhbh O’Neill writes of her experience of having to spend €81 on a taxi after a ghost bus never showed up in Waterford
Playbook
While Leaders’ Questions will be a little like Hamlet without the Prince, given that the leading figures in Government are still in New York, most of the significant exchanges in Leinster House will happen in the Committee rooms of LH 2000, where the children’s hospital fiasco is being examined, and also the OPW’s expenditure of €336,000 on a covered bicycle stand on the Leinster House campus.
Here’s a flavour of the Dáil exchanges on the NCH yesterday, as reported by Marie O’Halloran.
With the Taoiseach and Tánaiste flying back from the US later today, the weekly Cabinet meeting is expected tomorrow.
Dáil
9.58am: Private Members’ Business (Regional Group): Motion re Carer’s Allowance Means Test
12pm: Leaders’ Questions
1.04pm: Planning and Development (An Taisce) Bill 2024 – First Stage
14.10pm: Bill Debates:
- Health Information Bill 2024 – Second Stage
- Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Bill 2024 – Second Stage
7.06pm: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024 – Committee and remaining Stages
8.06pm: Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Bill 2024 – Report and Final Stages
9.06pm: Deferred Divisions
9.36pm: Dáil adjourns
Seanad Éireann
12.45pm: Planning and Development Bill 2023 – Report and Final Stages (resumed)
7pm: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 – Committee Stage
9pm: Seanad adjourns
Committees
9.30am: Joint Committee on Enterprise
Discussion on Unemployment Blackspots
Representatives from Social Justice Ireland
Representatives from Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed
9.30am: Joint Committee on Health
An update on the construction of the new national children’s hospital.
Representatives from National Paediatric Hospital Development Board
9.45am: Joint Committee on European Union Affairs
Discussion on the latest developments at the General Affairs Council.
Jennifer Carroll McNeill, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence
Officials from Department of Foreign Affairs
1.30pm: Comhchoiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus Phobal Labhartha na Gaeilge
Cur chuige an Stáit I gcur chun cinn chóras Gaeloideachais atá réamhghníomhach agus atá oiriúnach don fheidhm a bhaineann leis
An tAire Oideachais Norma Foley
1.30pm: The Joint Committee on Transport and Communications in conjunction with the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action will meet the European Court of Auditors (ECA) to discuss the reports relating to the remits of both Committees.
Representatives from European Court of Auditors, Tony Murphy, President.
Representatives from European Court of Auditors, Emily Davis, Secretary in Cabinet of President.
Representatives from European Court of Auditors, Peter Borsos, Attache in Cabinet of President.
1.30: Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Engagement with the Office of the Public Works
Representatives from Office of Public Works
Click for the full Dáil, Seanad and committee schedules
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