Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

In view of the Minister's statement that the North Korean Government expelled the nuclear inspectorate in 2002, is it not strange that he decided to set up diplomatic relations with that country? How can he justify the decision to set up diplomatic relations with North Korea in those circumstances? I do not understand the Minister's defence of his decision, which was that Ireland had the Presidency of the European Union and was forced to do so. I cannot accept that as a defence. Our foreign policy should be based on our own beliefs and needs. We should not be bounced into arrangements with countries such as North Korea and Burma because of our Presidency of the European Union. How can the Minister justify a decision to set up diplomatic relations with a country that only a short time previously expelled the nuclear inspectorate?

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