Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have the photographs to prove it. The point I mean to make is that he was not visiting in his current capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He travelled as a Deputy and the leader of a party. I know that he is concerned about the expansion of illegal settlements in Gaza and the West Bank and he commented previously on the matter. There have also been developments regarding apartheid on buses. Israelis are now insisting on Palestinian-only and Israeli-only buses. The situation is tense and I ask him to raise the issue.

I also ask him to encourage dialogue between the United Kingdom and Argentina regarding the Malvinas Islands, which are known as the Falklands in Britain. It is a difficult issue and he may not wish to broach it but he has an opportunity to do so with the Presidency. I attended a conference in London between 5 and 7 February which issued a communique calling for dialogue, bearing in mind the United Nations directives and what happened in 1982.

We are all conscious of those things, but dialogue is the way to settle any dispute. The dispute goes back to 1833. The Tánaiste has an interest in the area and perhaps he can have discussions with his colleague from Britain rather than at the full meeting.