Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassador to our meeting. I have a number of questions on various matters.

The nuclear matter was raised. Ireland was a driving force in the creation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. In 1968 it was opened for signature and Ireland was one of the first states invited to sign it. I am proud of that history and believe Ireland should continue to play a leading role in supporting nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

Many parties represented here have no difficulty with Iran developing nuclear technology for civilian, peaceful purposes that are fully supervised. Looking at released intelligence reports from the US and Israel, it appears Iran does not have a nuclear weapons programme. I base that on experts such as Professor Paul Tiller, who worked for the CIA for 28 years, Mr. Peter Jenkins, the British ambassador to the IAEA between 2001 and 2006, and Mr. Hans Blix. I am conscious the director of intelligence reports to the US Congress going back to 2007, when asked if Iran has a nuclear weapons programme, has answered in the negative. Is there any evidence that would suggest Iran seeks to develop nuclear weapons? I am conscious the supreme Ayatollah Khomeini has said that would be a grave sin. Would the grave sin relate to the stockpiling of such weapons or their use? What happened to the 20% enriched uraniam swap deal for Iran that was brokered by Brazil and Turkey? It appears to have been pushed to one side.

I am conscious that there are double standards in the sanctions being applied by some western countries to Iran, including Ireland. Oil sanctions are hurting the Iranian economy. There were reports in the media about the Iranian rial collapsing by 20%. These are not UN-mandated sanctions and Ireland and the EU are not under any obligation to apply them. How are the sanctions affecting the Iranian economy and Iranian people, particularly the poor?

Amnesty International appeared before the committee in October 2010 and outlined reports on human rights violations in Iran. The case of a Nazrim Sotooday was raised as an example of the jailing of a human rights lawyer. She is being held in Evim security prison, where conditions are reportedly dreadful, with reports of prisoners being tortured. Would the Iranian Government have any problem with Irish parliamentarians travelling to Iran and visiting that jail to meet some of the prisoners? We are worried about the reports about torture, prisoners undertaking hunger strikes. I do not expect and answer today but perhaps the ambassador will go back to the Iranian authorities to ask them to open up their jails to a visit by parliamentarians.

Many Irish people would ask why the Assad regime in Syria is supported by the Iranian Government. Is Iran concerned about the sectarian conflict that seems to be getting worse in the region?

Those are huge questions but I would be interested in hearing the ambassador's response on a visit to the prison.