Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I inadvertently consulted the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on this earlier and thought there would be more questions, but that is a genuine oversight on my part. On the summit and the Council meeting and the deal and discussions between the European Union and Turkey in terms of seeking to prevent people leaving the camps to travel to Europe, in the overall context has the Government a position on what is happening in Turkey? The issues that are emerging are of growing concern. There were bombs in Istanbul which killed nine tourists. There has been a drift from essential democratic norms in a number of areas in terms of the Turkish Government applying pressure to independent media and a growing indifference to minority rights. What was the contribution of the Irish Government or that of the Taoiseach to the summit in regard to those issues and what is the state of play in that relationship?

With respect to the ongoing tensions between Turkey and Russia and the shooting down of a plane prior to Christmas which received global attention, was that discussed in any great detail at the summit? Is the Taoiseach confident that all diplomatic efforts are being made by the European Union to ease tensions?

In terms of our bank debt, which the then Tánaiste, Deputy Eamon Gilmore described in 2012 as being a game changer, will the Minister of State confirm that it is now the Government's position that there will be no retrospective relief on debt and that essentially this chapter is closed despite what the Ministers, Deputies Noonan and Howlin, and the Taoiseach said in 2012? We never really sought any debt relief and we have now closed the chapter in terms of seeking any debt relief in terms of Anglo Irish Bank, given that the European Union and the European Central Bank in particular were adamant that no bank should fail and that bondholders would not be burned. That is what happened when Jean-Claude Trichet told the Minister, Deputy Noonan, that a bomb would go off and that it would not be in Frankfurt but in Dublin. Is that chapter finally closed in terms of the debt issue?

In regard to Ukraine, will the Minister of State explain why the conclusions of the summit are disturbingly silent and is a softly-softly approach now emerging in terms of the relationship with Russia, with Ukraine being left without any support?

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