Taoiseach and Tánaiste join world leaders for UN summit on Gaza

How do you reach a two-state solution when only one state is invited?

World leaders, including the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, are in New York for the UN General Assembly high-level week and the dire and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza is dominating. Simon Harris, who is lobbying member states to take sanctions against Israel on behalf of the Irish delegation, has said it is “offensive” that Palestinian Authority officials were blocked from travelling to the major political summit.

Ahead of today’s address at the UN General Assembly from US president Donald Trump, Keith Duggan reports for us from New York that Taoiseach Micheál Martin said certain members of the Israeli government “clearly had genocidal intent from day one”.

While Ireland had risked international isolation by moving to recognise the state of Palestine in May 2024 alongside Spain and Norway, the Government is encouraged by major world powers who are following suit.

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On Monday night, France became the latest country to formally recognise the state of Palestine with president and summit host Emmanuel Macron describing how “we must pave the way for peace.”

France has joined the UK, Canada and Australia in formally recognising a Palestinian state this week. Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, Andorra and San Marino were also set to announce that they would recognise the state of Palestine. The United States, Germany and Italy have already said that they would not.

In Israel, government ministers have responded angrily to the move with claims that it will embolden Hamas. While the gesture from the international community is significant, Riham Jafari of ActionAid Palestine is writing in the opinion pages this morning about how recognition of the state of Palestine risks becoming a hollow gesture.

Connolly’s Hamas comments raised on campaign trail

Back home, the genocide in Gaza continues to influence the presidential election campaign. Catherine Connolly dominates headlines today with her comments on how she believes that “Hamas is part of the fabric of the Palestinian people,” and that it would be up to Palestinians to decide if they wanted Hamas to be a part of a Palestinian government.

Pat Leahy is reporting from Ms Connolly’s campaign launch in Dublin city on Monday night, where the left-wing candidate declined to comment on her way into the event when asked by reporters about her remarks to the BBC.

She was asked about UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s view that Hamas could not be involved in a Palestinian government. It came after Mr Starmer used his landmark statement recognising Palestine this week to say that Hamas “can have no future, no role in government, no role in security” and that the UK would take further sanctions against other Hamas figures in the “coming weeks”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin criticised Ms Connolly’s comments, saying Hamas had “broken every humanitarian law and cannot be part of Gaza’s future”.

But Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin said while he was “surprised” by Ms Connolly’s remarks, he stopped short of criticising her. In an interview on the Six One on Monday, Mr Gavin pointed out that his campaign rival had acknowledged “the atrocities and horrific crimes that Hamas committed over two years ago”.

Her left-wing campaign colleagues the Social Democrats said in a statement that while they “would not have used the same language as Catherine”, the party believes “it is up to the Palestinian people to decide who their political representatives should be, following free and fair elections”.

Labour’s Alan Kelly was more critical, and said he expects Ms Connolly will have to withdraw the remarks.

Now a three-horse race?

Speaking of the presidential race, with a little over 24 hours to go until the close of nominations the conservative Maria Steen is now the only Independent left standing with a non-zero chance of getting on the ticket.

Harry McGee and I are reporting on how Independent Ireland will likely decide Ms Steen’s fate this morning, when the party’s four TDs meet in Dublin to consider if they will sign her nomination papers. If they don’t, it seems almost certain that the ballot paper for the 2026 presidential election will only have three names: Jim Gavin, Heather Humphreys and Catherine Connolly.

The only other Independent contender, Gareth Sheridan, bowed out gracefully on Monday, after it became clear he would not secure the backing of four councils. Mr Sheridan had earned the support of Tipperary and Kerry, but his fate was sealed when Meath and Offaly declined to support him.

Rejoice, because the interminable speculation stage of the campaign is finally coming to an end. As we move into the campaign proper, political correspondents will no longer have to muse over the electoral prospects of former weather women or erstwhile Boomtown Rats. The word “quixotic” has been prevalent in our coverage of this febrile period of rumour and mystifying displays of self-confidence, so savour what could be its last run out for a while in this piece from Pat that analyses Mr Sheridan’s departure from the race.

Best Reads

A disturbing subplot of the presidential election, and Irish politics in general of late, has been online abuse of aspirant or elected public representatives. Following the news that Jim Gavin has written to social networks asking for untrue and upsetting claims against him and his family to be removed, Conor Gallagher writes this morning about the right-wing environmentalist behind the false allegations.

In between covering the UN high-level week for us, the industrious Keith Duggan has a fascinating read in today’s paper that takes us inside the memorial for Charlie Kirk, the first martyr of the Maga movement

And as the leaders of the world can only comment and condemn from New York, Fintan O’Toole uses his column today to consider the “instant amnesia” that allows Israel to avoid confronting the genocide it is inflicting on Gaza.

Playbook

There is no Cabinet meeting this week, with senior Government figures away in New York.

In the Dáil, Leaders’ Questions kick off at 2pm as usual on a Tuesday. The Order of Business and questions on policy follows just after 2.30pm, with the first stage of the Education (Affordable School Uniforms) Bill 2025 being introduced to the Dáil after 3pm. This is a Sinn Féin proposal that would see schools introduce new uniform policies designed to cut costs for parents and reduce reliance on branded items. This is followed by two motions without debate, the first is the appointment of new members to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority and the second is on revised estimates.

Government business at 3.10pm is statements on School Transport, which are scheduled to finish at 6.42pm for a Sinn Féin motion on energy costs. Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley will take questions between 8.42pm and 10.19pm. The last item of the day is a topical issues slot for between 10.19pm and 11.19pm.

In the committee rooms, the joint committee on artificial intelligence will hear from more than 10 youth advocacy groups and charities on the way AI affects children and young people.

Other committees meeting today include the committee on budgetary oversight ahead of Budget 2026 in a couple of weeks, and John Whyte, the deputy director of Unrwa, is talking to the foreign affairs committee about the dramatic deterioration of humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

The justice committee is examining the IPAS system while the housing committee will hear from the LDA on affordable housing.