Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Ms Iverna McGowan and Mr. Colm O'Gorman on their work in Ireland and abroad. In his opening statement Mr. O'Gorman states: "Indeed, since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the establishment of the EEAS, EU human rights foreign policy has increasing relevance." It is not often we hear compliments paid to the work of the External Action Service. Will he elaborate on that?

With regard to the human rights defenders guidelines which were finalised during the previous Irish Presidency, my impression from the opening statement is that they are not being implemented. Am I correct in that? Ms McGowan mentioned the nine people whose lives are under threat and whose human rights are being violated. In the political calendar six months goes by very quickly. From the experience of Amnesty International, is it better to focus on specific cases that are necessarily high profile and have a wider dimension than just the individual rather than having a laudable and worthwhile programme of advancing issues in general? Is it the case that if one tries to make progress on too many issues in a very short period, one can end up with little progress in any of them? Would it be better to focus on the needs of some of the nine individuals whose human rights are being violated?