Taoiseach insists circulation of Michael D Higgins letter to Iranian ...

However, Mr Harris was critical of the Israeli Embassy in Ireland for publicly criticising the letter the President sent to congratulate his counterpart on taking office.

“You'd like to think that Israel would be more concerned with the fact that 14,000 children in Gaza are dead, that at least 20,000 are missing, many presumed dead,” Mr HarriS said

“Certainly my focus here in New York is not on an exchange of letters, but is on the fact that there is still a horrific, bloody humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Middle East, and I have no interest whatsoever in getting into any sort of tit for tat or back or forth with the Israeli embassy or the government of a country that is continuing to allow this horrific humanitarian situation continue where children are dying on a daily basis, many more being maimed, and many, many hundreds of 1000s, if not millions, being deprived access to humanitarian aid,” he added.

His comments came after President Michael D Higgins accused the Israeli embassy in Ireland of circulating a letter he wrote congratulating the recently elected Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.

Mr Higgins’s letter was published by the London-based Jewish Chronicle and drew criticism from Fine Gael TDs.

The Israeli embassy has described his allegations as “baseless accusations”.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations General Assembly, the President first urged people to question why the letter was circulated and by whom.

Pressed on the matter, Mr Higgins said he believes the letter was circulated by the Israeli embassy, but said he had “no idea” how they accessed the private correspondence he wrote to his Iranian counterpart.

“My letter was standard, one I have written to many heads of state, and I stressed in it the importance of peace in the region, and the importance as well of diplomacy returning in relation to the resolution of disputes and so forth,” he said.

“One of your journalist colleagues got [the letter] from the Israeli embassy and rang somebody and asked was I concerned and I wasn’t concerned,” he added.

Mr Higgins’s letter was criticised by Fine Gael TDs when it emerged during the summer.

In a statement, the Israeli embassy to Ireland described the President’s comments as a “baseless accusation”.

“Unfortunately in Ireland, since the October 7 invasion by Hamas and massacre in Israel , which triggered this awful war, Israel has been subjected to a high level of malicious statements and accusations that have often manifested as incitement to hatred,” it said.

“This baseless accusation is highly inflammatory and potentially slanderous and the embassy rejects it completely.

“The fact remains that the letter was written and therefore it is the burden of the author to defend its content, which did not mention the threat Iran poses in the region, that it calls for Israel’s destruction, that it arms and funds terrorist organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah, not to mention the violations of human rights against its own citizens,” it added.

A spokesman for President Higgins said the president made no suggestion the Israeli embassy leaked his letter, but rather that they circulated it.

"The exchange of letters upon the coming to office of a new Head of State is standard diplomatic practice for countries which share diplomatic relations. As is usual practice, the letter in question was drafted based on material supplied by the Department of Foreign Affairs and issued via standard diplomatic channels. Such letters have been sent to incoming Presidents of Iran for a number of decades," said the spokesman.

"In response to questions, the President indicated his view that this standard diplomatic letter had been circulated over the summer and presented as being something out of the ordinary.

"The President made no accusations of a leak, he solely referred to the letter being circulated. In this context, the question of reporting does not arise, he added

Mr Higgins was separately asked how he would characterise the Government’s handling of the housing crisis, but he said he would not comment on any particular government.

However, when it was put to him that it was an abject failure to have thousands of homeless families, he said: “There’s no doubt whatsoever that as one looks at it… I have to answer the question properly now, it has failed in many dimensions. The planning is a disaster. There aren’t enough planning officers working for the local authorities.”

He spoke about “the suggestion the delay in providing houses is due to people going to court to exercise their rights”.

“I think the total number was two per cent. In most cases where the courts took the decision, it was in relation to planning flaws. So there’s side that of it,” he said.

Mr Higgins said it is “inconceivable” that the State would not directly build new homes and said the current policy was relying on “seducing” the private market.

The President was also critical of the Government’s policy on immigration.

“No one has proved any arguments in relation to changing benefits as a deterrence. There’s no evidence for that in Europe, and there isn’t much for it anywhere else either, even in relation to Mexico and the US. I began studying migration in 1968. It’s a long time ago,” he said.