Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and thank them for being here. It is important that what is happening in Yemen is highlighted in the public domain. When it comes to matters of foreign affairs, we are ignorant about Yemen. The information contained in the documentation supplied to members is not generally known. I hope this meeting will help to highlight the situation in Yemen. We need to do highlight this outrage on a continuous basis. The conflict does not arise out of poverty so it should be possible to resolve it. The lack of publicity in regard to the ongoing atrocities does nothing to help resolve the problem. It is important that the committee is updated regularly on this situation. In that regard, I suggest that our guests to invited to appear before us again in the not too distant such that we continue to highlight this situation.

This is the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence. My knowledge of the atrocities that are happening in Yemen is fairly limited, for which I apologise. As already stated, we need to ensure that it is highlighted. Our guests will note that there is not much media presence at this meeting, which is the norm when it comes to discussing these types of issues. We find it difficult to get the necessary publicity about what is happening.

The committee should do everything in its power to highlight these atrocities in Yemen and other parts of the world. We can continue to meet the delegates and highlight what is happening. When I read the documentation, I was quite frightened because nothing is being said about what is happening. The request that the committee should write to the Tánaiste seeking an update on diplomatic efforts made by Ireland regarding Yemen is not too onerous. Not only should we write to the Tánaiste, we should invite him to come before us in order to discuss these matters, particularly Yemen, with him. Our guests also requested that Ireland use its influence at EU and UN levels. This is not a major request but, again, it highlights the issue. With regard to both requests, the committee should formally make a presentation in writing before inviting the Tánaiste to come before it and asking that what we desire be done.

I congratulate our guests on continuing to bring these matters to our attention. It is fairly easy to forget about the parts of the world in question. It is quite horrific that what is happening is not the result of poverty. Yemen is located in a reasonably well-off part of the world but it seems to have been forgotten. Our job is to make certain that we highlight what is happening there. I suggest that we do as requested in the report, that is, contact the Tánaiste and ask him to attend, if at all possible, to highlight what is happening in Yemen.