Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a particular interest in the Middle East and I hope the committee will have an opportunity to visit, as I have, the refugee camps in northern Lebanon to see the hundreds of thousands of Christians who have been displaced from Syria. The two major superpowers are squaring up to each other in the Middle East, and whatever will happen now with the election of Trump? Peace in the Middle East must come from within the Middle East. What contact has been made at EU level with the Iranian Government? Iran has a population of 180 million and has a major role to play in bringing peace and stability to the Middle East. I do not believe the two superpowers will achieve it. Has any contact been made at EU level or by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with Iran? The Minister touched on it, and I tabled a parliamentary question recently, on whether the Minister had any proposals to open an embassy in Iran. It is a country with which we should start to foster relations, particularly now sanctions have been lifted, although it is difficult to know what Trump will do. It has a major role to play in bringing peace and stability to the Middle East, which must come from within the Middle East. What contact does the Department have with Middle Eastern governments to ascertain whether a resolution can be proposed? Are there proposals at EU level to try to bring peace there? Many of the people in the refugee camps do not want to come to Ireland or go to the United States. The vast majority of them just want to go home, where they were born and reared, and not become a refugee in another country.