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

I apologise for being late but I had two committee meetings at the same time. I apologise for not having heard the contributions but I will have a chance to read the written record of these proceedings.

The Chairman asked about the level of corruption. Obviously, the prevalence of violence has to be a source of concern to the international community. According to one of the documents I read, greater visibility is required in respect of the relationship between the European Union and Guatemala. I refer in particular to highlighting the difficulties that face human rights defenders and those concerned with the administration of justice and judicial independence. Apart from raising this with our Government and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, what effective measures can we implement through the European Union to help in dealing with those very serious issues?