Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I extend the warm hand of friendship to the ambassador, H.E. Mr. Hossein Panahiazar. and congratulate him on the excellent work he has done in opening up the trade relations between Iran and Ireland for beef and sheep meat. We, on behalf of the trade, applaud his efforts.

I have very little in common with his country, in so far as an Irish politician gets a mandate from the people to represent liberal democratic standards. The difference between the democratic society we are used to and an Islamic republic such as Iran is like chalk and cheese.

I am surprised at the sentiments expressed by members of the Sinn Féin Party when they questioned the nuclear enrichment programme. There has been eight fruitless years of negotiations on the nuclear enrichment programme between China, France, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States. These six are known alternatively as the E3+3. Six major powerful nations have been involved in negotiations with Iran on the nuclear issues with fruitless results.

We as a small island country are equally concerned about the welfare of the 75 million Iranians, particularly the beautiful and highly-educated young population. We would hate to see any pre-emptive strike by Israel against the nuclear deposits in Iran. We are entering a very sensitive period, with the forthcoming elections in America. One can clearly see that Mitt Romney would support the Israelis in pre-emptive strikes whereas President Obama has to be more understanding and has supported the extension of the talks. The talks must reach a conclusion. I disagree with my Sinn Féin colleagues. Sanctions are a crude method of punishing a nation. I understand Iran is suffering tremendously from sanctions. The people who suffer as a result of sanctions are usually the poor and less capable who cannot sustain themselves in a sanctioned society. I am pleading with the ambassador to convey to his Government that Ireland applauds Iran's right to nuclear energy. It is, however, the potential military use of the enriched uranium that worries us. We would like to see a conclusion to the negotiations on that issue.

We cannot support the Iranian Government on a vast range of actions. Human rights has been mentioned. We know of examples of the outrageous treatment of women, the horrendous treatment of gay, lesbian and transgender people and the public executions. The hanging of gays from cranes in public places is inhuman. I cannot see the religious context for that type of behaviour. It is horrendous to hear President Ahmadinejad's bellicose outcries about Israel and how he intends to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. That type of language does nothing to secure the security of the 75 million population in Iran. I would be very interested in visiting Iran. Iran has a rather complex border of 1,000 km. I applaud the way it deals with drug trafficking which is a major problem. We in Ireland know the negative effects of drug trafficking on a community or a society. Just because there is a border of 1,000 km with neighbouring Afghanistan, to call the influx of drugs a Zionist plot is confrontational.
There are many human rights issues. The delegates will appreciate that we as a committee and a country apply a very high level of support for those who are activists in the human rights field, front-line defenders, NGO movements and so on.
Until such time as the nuclear issue is brought to a satisfactory conclusion, the sanctions will apply. Until Iran returns to being a society that is more acceptable in the wider game of international politics, there will be pain involved for the people of Iran unless negotiations are successful in dealing with these tricky issues.