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

Go raibh maith agat. I welcome the Tánaiste. He referred to the settlements in Palestine. I welcomed his comments following the meeting with the so-called elders during the Presidency. He stated that the Israeli settlements in Palestine are illegal and the products from them should be treated as illegal in the European Union.

There was an agreement on an EU ban on those goods. Our Government adopted the position that legal opinion indicated that would be difficult, despite the fact that many organisations have an alternative legal view in that regard. In a recent parliamentary reply, which was probably not written by him, the Tánaiste stated that the importation of settlement goods into the EU was a less significant issue than stopping settlement growth and that EU trade with Israeli settlements was not significant. The value of the trade with the EU is €230 million. That is not an insignificant sum but, more important, EU imports from illegal settlements are 15 times those from Palestinians. It is a crucial issue. The illegal settlements in the Jordan Valley region are only economically viable because they can export to European supermarkets. What the Tánaiste stated does not add up.

The Chairman referred to the EU directive that prohibits grants, funding, prizes and so on. I ask the Tánaiste to expand on that because it represents a moving from rhetoric to action in that regard. Is the Tánaiste confident that will be fully implemented? Does it cover the areas of economics, science, culture, sports and academia?

The Tánaiste mentioned Syria. Twenty-five out of 27 member states were in favour of renewing the embargo. Britain and France appeared to have got their way in that regard. In other conflict zones such as Iraq there are private companies involved in training, etc. Basically, they are an alternative to the army in terms of troops on the ground. Is the Tánaiste aware of that happening in Syria?

On the arms embargo, we are told that no EU country has formally sent weapons. Is that the Tánaiste's view of the situation on the ground?

The Tánaiste mentioned the deteriorating situation in Egypt. Language is very important. The EU was talking in terms of military intervention but the Tánaiste spoke earlier about military take-over. Does he regard what happened in Egypt as a military coup? Is it difficult for a country like Ireland to say that a military coup occurred in the country? Has Ireland publicly called for President Mursi's release?

Regarding the Human Rights Council, the Tánaiste spoke in terms of freedom of religion or belief and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, LGBT, rights. Again, the EU adopted a strategic framework and action plan. The Tánaiste hoped that would be covered under the Lithuanian Presidency but the difficulty, according to the 2013 Rainbow Europe index, is that Lithuania is one of the worst countries in the EU in terms of laws and policies to protect LGBT people. EU figures also indicate it is the worst country in the EU in that regard.

During the EU Presidency guidelines were issued on overseas EU missions committed to during the Irish Presidency, which referred to freedom of assembly without excessive political and administrative obstacles and police protection in the event of public hostility. That is in respect of EU missions but there does not appear to be a similar view taken on EU member states. There is a gap in that regard.

Regarding LGBT rights in Russia, draconian legislation has been introduced against the LGBT community under which information that views LGBT people in a positive and neutral light is banned. An example of that is the attack by the authorities on the recent gay pride march in Moscow. Does the Tánaiste see that as a Human Rights Council issue?

The Tánaiste mentioned Hezbollah in regard to one member state. He might put on record the name of that state. He spoke also in terms of a proposal to designate the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. I would be interested to hear from where that is coming.