Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the committee. I will follow on from what Deputy Byrne said about Colombia. We have a Euro-Med trade agreement with Israel which contains a human rights clause. It is entirely unenforceable, however, and does not have any trigger mechanism or review process. It simply does not work. We know that because following the last six attacks in Gaza there has been no triggering of the Euro-Med agreement's human rights clause, despite attacks on UN compounds. I would ask, therefore, that before Ireland signs up to any trade agreement with Colombia, we would ensure that the human rights clause for which Ireland fought is actually workable and includes trigger and review mechanisms.

I also wish to ask for an update on the situation of undocumented Irish in America. President Obama is about to sign an executive order concerning his powers and what he can do for the 50,000 undocumented Irish people. Perhaps the Minister would consider pushing for a humanitarian visa not only for the 50,000 undocumented Irish but also the 12 million others residing in the United States who cannot leave and return. A humanitarian visa should be part of the executive order, which would allow them to leave in time of bereavement and distress to their families at home while being able to return to the United States. The Government should push for that.

I would like to get the Minister's views on votes for the Irish diaspora overseas. The Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, has been talking about this matter, but having it solely in presidential elections is simply not enough. There are only eight countries in the world that confine votes for their diaspora to presidential elections, and all of those have executive presidents with powers similar to those of President Obama. Perhaps the Minister would consider expanding that option for the Irish overseas and those living in Northern Ireland to vote not only in presidential elections but also in Seanad elections.

Is it possible to upgrade our mission in Ramallah to embassy status, thus taking a step towards recognition?

At some future date, could we have a joint meeting with the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement? I know the Minister is very much engaged in the process at the moment, but it is one of the biggest and longest-lasting conflicts in Europe. We are hoping that it is at a permanent peace but because of the historical legacy and issues over flags and parades, it has the potential to come back with a vengeance at any time. I ask the Minister to addresses this matter in his reply, including how the situation is progressing and how he sees it evolving.

Recently, I attended an interparliamentary conference in Rome. If the Minister had been there, he would have been disturbed to hear the language coming from our Italian hosts. They were essentially talking about a European army and the ability of Europe to intervene in the same way as the United States intervenes at the moment. They were not talking about having a common defence policy in the short term, but they obviously want to have such a policy in the long term. In addition, they said that we need to gradually create a European army.

On 12 September 2013, a European Parliament resolution referred to efforts within the Council to increase the flexibility and usability of battle groups, transfer of authority and removal of national caveats. That would basically remove Ireland's veto over the deployment of battle groups. That was the language being used not just by the Italians but also by members of other parliaments. I tried to insert language in the communiqué of that conference to mention Irish neutrality and our insistence that there would not be a European army. We have a triple lock mechanism, so we do not and will not deploy our troops unless there is a UN mandate to do so. That was resisted, however.

Worse again is talk in the European Parliament about removing Ireland's national caveat, that is, our veto over the deployment of troops. They were even talking about having a blank cheque, basically, the ability to get a resolution passed for the deployment of troops on undetermined future missions for unspecified causes. I do not know how the European Parliament passed a resolution talking about the transfer of authority and the removal of national caveats, but it certainly did.