Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I support Deputy Crowe on raising the Ibrahim Halawa case. I would like the Minister to outline what can be done to ensure that greater pressure is put on the Egyptian authorities to bring about Mr. Halawa's release.

On Ireland's vote in respect of the election of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the Minister said he does not propose to seek to change UN policy not to disclose votes. On this occasion, the US had called for a vote, as I understand it, which would not normally have happened. Usually, where there are the same number of countries proposed as there are places on the commission, there is no vote.

Given that the United States in changing that practice really expressed disapproval of Saudi Arabia's candidacy for the Council, given its appalling treatment of women and girls, can the Minister say if Ireland would at least support moves by other countries to change the disclosure situation on voting, particularly where the votes of other member states of the EU on this particular vote were in fact disclosed to the press and to the public?

The issue of Palestine has also been raised by other members but I note that the Minister did not answer Deputy Darragh O'Brien's question as to why he has not acted on the commitment in the programme for Government and on previous Seanad and Dáil motions to recognise the state of Palestine, given the Government's stated support for a two-state solution, the fact that we are now approaching the 50th anniversary of Israeli occupation, and ongoing concerns around human rights abuses by the Israeli state. Could the Minister comment specifically on the commitment to recognise the state of Palestine and what we can do further on that and why it has not been done to date?

The issue of Turkey has again been raised. I was among those members who met representatives from the People's Democratic Party, HDP, last week and they spoke to us of appalling treatment by the Turkish Government of the Kurdish population in certain regions and districts in Turkey. I know that Minister said that he met the Turkish Minister for the Economy in April when he came to Ireland. If we were to communicate with the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, the disclosures made to us by the Kurdish representatives here perhaps he could say if he could then meet the Turkish ambassador to bring those concerns to him? I know that he is meeting the Turkish authorities on an ongoing basis. There are huge concerns of course among EU governments about the ongoing detentions, the mass sackings of public servants in Turkey, the show trials, and the arrests and detentions of large numbers of individuals there. This is a specific matter that the Kurdish representatives brought to us last week and I would be grateful if the Minister could raise it directly with the Turkish ambassador.

My final points concern Syria and the migration issue and I am grateful to Trócaire and to the Irish Syria Solidarity Movement who have communicated some serious concerns to me about ongoing issues there. We know that the terrible humanitarian crisis continues in Syria. John Ging spoke to the committee last week of the more than 600,000 persons still under siege in Syria. There are real concerns about forcible displacements of families; we are hearing about up to 2,000 families being forcibly displaced per week and we know that Idlib in particular has seen a large number of forcible displacements. Can the Minister say what Ireland is doing to increase protection of civilians in Syria? Can we seek for example to have Irish agencies operating in Idlib? I do not think that they are at present and maybe he could comment on that. Can we seek to see air-drops of aid into besieged communities in Syria? Can we look at the countries that are supporting the brutal Assad regime? I listened with interest to Deputy Barret's comments about Iran and engagement with Iran but clearly Iran is complicit in much of what is going on in Syria and many of the actions of the regime. Has the EU or has Ireland considered the question of further sanctions on Iran in respect of its involvement in the Syrian catastrophe? How can the EU counter the malign and growing influence of Russia as a huge force behind and supportive of Assad's regime in Syria? The Minister has spoken himself very eloquently about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Crimea and we are all conscious that the EU already has sanctions against Russia. How can the EU act in a more concerted manner to prevent or check Russia's growing and what most of us would see as malign influence in so many areas in Syria and in Ukraine in particular?