There is some consensus among Opposition parties that Micheál Martin needs to raise one issue with President Donald Trump in particular: Gaza.
Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman Duncan Smith said it is “incumbent on the Taoiseach to raise the plight of the many people who are suffering the brutality of war”.
“The people of Ireland have made clear their desire to support those in Ukraine and in Gaza, whilst we see further conflict in Syria and Yemen on the brink of more bloodshed. The Taoiseach must use his opportunity with President Trump to clearly and directly make those views known,” Mr Smith said in a statement.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Taoiseach must raise the plight of Palestinians with Mr Trump – both in front of the cameras and behind closed doors.
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Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Ms McDonald noted that Mr Martin is meeting Mr Trump “at a time where there is now a further blockade on Gaza, where aid is being stopped, where electricity is being cut off, and where there is a threat to the people of Gaza for their mass expulsion and for the annexation of their territory”.
She said Mr Martin will “have the ear of the president of the United States, and it’s important that he avails of that opportunity”.
A spokesman for Solidarity-People Before Profit said Mr Martin “shouldn’t be meeting Trump at all”. However, as the conversation is indeed going ahead, the onus is on the Taoiseach to raise “Trump’s threat to ethnically cleanse Gaza”.
Last month, the US president suggested permanently displacing Palestinians from Gaza, saying people there had no alternative but to leave the enclave devastated by Israel’s military assault. His comments were roundly criticised at the time, including by top officials at the United Nations.
The spokesman for Solidarity-PBP said Mr Martin should point out that displacing Palestinians would be “a crime against humanity” and Mr Trump “would pay the price in the International Criminal Court, for any such plan”.
[ Inside Trump’s surprise plan to ‘own’ GazaOpens in new window ]
The Social Democrats said the Taoiseach “needs to raise a variety of hugely important issues”, including “the immensely important economic and societal links between our two countries” and “the enormous investment by Irish companies in the United States”.
A spokesman added that Mr Martin must also raise “the Irish people’s unequivocal support for Ukraine, and their huge concern at continued outrageous breaches of international law by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank”.
