Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We will now get down to the business of today's meeting, which concerns the situation of members of the Baha'i faith in Iran. I want to welcome Mr. Brendan McNamara, who is chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Ireland. I also wish to welcome his colleagues, Ms Alison Wortley and Ms Patricia Rainford.

Most members of the committee are aware of some of the problems faced by the Baha'i faith. It is important to have the assembly's representatives here today to give a presentation on the current situation in Iran. There have been major changes in Iran recently as a result of the election of a new President. These are changing and challenging times in Iran. At the UN General Assembly we have seen the overtures being made to the new Iranian President concerning that country's nuclear capacity. That matter has to be examined and with the President and Administration in place in Iran we will hopefully see some changes there in future, particularly for minorities such as the Baha'i faith.

I will now ask Mr. McNamara to make his presentation.