Mr. Colm O'Gorman:

Thank you, Chairman, and our thanks to the committee for inviting us to speak on the topic of the Irish Presidency's role on EU human rights foreign policy. As members will be aware, we met the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Gilmore, at the launch of these recommendations in January. The Tánaiste welcomed our recommendations and noted the Presidency's firm commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights in Ireland, Europe and globally. I am happy to say we have had a lot of engagement with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, both here in Dublin and at the Irish Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels, which has been very welcome.

I understand that earlier this year the committee met Mr. Stavros Lambrinidis, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights. Our colleagues in Brussels, one of whom is with us today, Ms Iverna McGowan, are maintaining close contact with Mr. Lambrinidis and look forward to working with him to continually strengthen the EU's external human rights policies. Indeed, he shares our view that there is a pressing need for greater coherence between the EU's internal and external human rights policies and we will comment further on this later.

As parliamentarians, committee members will also be aware that the Treaty of Lisbon has increased the role that national parliamentarians play in EU decision-making processes. Indeed, only last month I met Deputy Dominic Hannigan, Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs, to discuss, among other issues, the Irish Presidency's role in chairing the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union. Together with the European Parliament, national parliaments play a vital role in overseeing and scrutinising EU policy.

Today, we want to address Amnesty International's recommendations to the Irish Presidency on the external affairs dimension of the EU. We are aware that the Presidency alone cannot deliver on all of these recommendations but rather will have to work together with the European Commission, the European Parliament and the External Action Service, EEAS. Nevertheless, the Presidency plays a key role in the Council of the EU, in particular with regard to providing leadership on key human rights dossiers. As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council and EU member state, Ireland has committed itself to upholding the highest standards in protecting and promoting human rights. We often hear that human rights are the cornerstone of Irish foreign policy and Ireland cannot limit work on human rights to international fora such as the United Nations or the OSCE, vital as that is, but must also assert the primacy of human rights within its own region. Indeed, since the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty and the establishment of the EEAS, EU human rights foreign policy has increasing relevance.

I will now ask Ms Iverna McGowan to give the committee an overview of some of our recommendations and we will then take questions.