Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassador. I have had the privilege of meeting him on at least one occasion, casually on another occasion and we have had very good conversations here in LH 2000. Unlike Deputy Brady, I have not yet managed to get to the embassy but it is something that I would like to do. In my case, I tend to commute a lot so it is not easy for me to visit embassies in the evenings. I agree with Senator Wilson that the ambassador is very well known in here.

Ireland, with the EU, supports Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity. Senator Wilson may have been the catalyst but there was a motion passed in the Seanad in 2018 giving further expression to that and we have been against the aggression. Earlier I perused the briefing notes, the ambassador's presentation and the chronicle of displaced persons, of torture and of arrests, which made very grim reading. That can never be taken off the table and we must never lose sight of the human rights issues in the region.

In July 2016, agreement was reached on a deep and comprehensive free trade area with the EU, which is good. I would personally be a great supporter of Georgia's movement towards accession to the EU. I say to the Chairman of this committee and colleagues here that we have a duty within the EU to support and give voice to accession. Indeed, as other colleagues have said earlier, we must support Georgia in its new capacity in the UN. I note that the EU has contributed €410 million to Georgia between 2014 and 2016, which I support. I wish Georgia well with accession.

I join with colleagues in expressing support for the position of Georgia because we are greatly distressed by the civil rights abuses and horrible effects of aggression in the region. Thankfully, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, and the Overseas Development Institute, ODI, have reported that the recent elections in Georgia were a great success in terms of process, on which I congratulate the ambassador.

I ask the ambassador to please enlighten us about the continuing boycott of parliament by the opposition in Georgia. Naturally, the boycott is a concern for the ambassador but it is a concern for us too. What steps are being taken to resolve the matter? I have a lot of personal involvement in Albania, on behalf of the Council of Europe, so I know that there is always an onus on the majority or governing party to make an effort to accommodate the opposition and bring them onboard.

I am aware of the six-point peace plan. Senator Wilson asked questions along these lines but I want to hear about the continuing day-to-day breaches of the peace plan. I was shocked when I heard the ambassador say that the conflict has displaced 150,000 people.

The points that the ambassador made about foreign direct investment were well made. While Ireland does not have a lot of input in that area it is important that such investment happens and that good signals are sent out. The ambassador also made an interesting point about getting green energy to Europe, which is an issue that could become relevant.

I come from an area that also informed the questions asked by Senator Wilson because he said that it is important that agriculture and dairy products go to Georgia. Certainly the region where I live and where I come from have a very developed food processing sector. Has much been done to link up with the very large food processing firms in counties Cavan and Monaghan like Lakeland Dairies and Glanbia? Perhaps the ambassador might speak specifically about the issue.

I strongly support Georgia's accession to the EU because therein lies the solution to a lot of its problems.

I thank the Chairman for this opportunity to raise those issues. Again, I welcome the ambassador. This is a very important dialogue.