Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs

Forthcoming General Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

4:00 pm

Photo of Fidelma Healy EamesFidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My apologies. My second question concerns the European Investment Bank, which members of this committee recently visited. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. It is a really good social, not-for-profit bank. I know we recently secured €50 million towards school projects from that bank. Are we doing enough to maximise the potential projects we could pursue at this time by presenting those projects to the European Investment Bank to be proofed? It pursues very sound projects for economic and social good. We need very sound job creation stimuli. Other members of the committee who joined with me on that day would say that we need to pursue far more projects, including school projects and those relating to primary health care centres and transport infrastructure. We should aggressively use the benefits of that.

I was approached last evening by a group of Bangladeshi people living in Ireland seeking our support with respect to the recent riots that have occurred there. I believe there are reports of between 30 to 300 people being killed in recent days. Could the Tánaiste tell us what is happening there and what our position is? Are we supporting any action at international level to stop this?