Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 9 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Recent Meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council and the UN Security Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Photo of Cathal BerryCathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his team for coming in and for his detailed opening statement. I have two questions. The first concerns the situation at the Belarusian-Polish border. Large waves of refugees are being used as political pawns, and basically being used in hybrid attacks against the European Union. There have been reports of refugees being flown in from the Middle East to Minsk and then being bussed up to the border. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has called for increased sanctions against the Lukashenko regime. Does the Minister see these additional sanctions coming in and, if so, what will they contain? How long would it take for any such additional sanctions to come into force?

My second question concerns China. Every member of the committee is well aware that an Irish citizen is being held in China against his will and without charge. It is a matter of deep concern for every member of this committee. The Chinese ambassador has declined to come before the committee and I am sure we can all draw our own conclusions as to why that would be the case. In fairness, all the committee members have maintained a dignified silence regarding the case of Richard O’Halloran to allow the diplomatic community the space and time to progress the situation. To be fair as well, however, we can see nothing that points towards progress being made. I would be grateful, therefore, if the Minister will update this committee regarding where we stand with the case of Richard O’Halloran and how he sees this issue progressing between now and Christmas. If national diplomacy is not working, do we need to escalate this matter to a higher level, for example, to the European Union Foreign Affairs Council or to the United Nations Security Council itself?

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