Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late; I was speaking in the Chamber on homelessness.

There is certainly an issue regarding Bahrain and human rights, but we are dealing with the status of the RCSI in Ireland, and I have no reason to object to the status being granted. It has, rightly, gone through a rigorous examination, as the Minister of State said. The granting of university status should not happen without that kind of rigorous examination. We need to speak out on Bahrain, but that is primarily the duty of the Government and of those of us in Opposition parties. I have worn many hats at this stage, but when I was in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, I brought it up on a visit to the Middle East on behalf of the Government at the time. That constantly needs to be raised by the Government and by other members of parliament here and in other countries because there no doubt that there are significant and very worrying violations of human rights, which involve medical personnel, including, I am sure, medical personnel associated with the RCSI. It is serious, and I urge that the RCSI to take whatever opportunities it gets to raise these issues. However, that it is not a reason to prevent the college from gaining the status of a university in Ireland, if it has been rigorously examined and reached that standard. I am not inclined to stop that. It is an important day for the college. It has the right to be called a university outside Ireland, and this order will grant that right within the country.

We need to separate the two issues, although the human rights issue is serious and needs constantly to be brought to the attention of the authorities in Bahrain and of anybody else who influences what happens there. Umbrella organisations in countries in the Middle East can exert significant influence but we also need to do that as a country.