Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Yes but that is the question. My responsibility to this House is on behalf of the Irish Government. To make it clear, the position is that Ireland has not issued any licences for the export of military goods to Yemen or Bahrain in 2011.

I acknowledge Deputy Wallace's support and his comments on the strong position Ireland has taken in respect of Syria, but we are not cutting and dicing here. As far as the Government is concerned, the issues of human rights and democratic rights are not divisible. They are not applied one way in one country and another way in another country. As far as we are concerned, they are universal rights.

As the Deputy knows, the Bahrain independent commission of inquiry undertook a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the events at the Salmaniya medical complex and concluded that there was no evidence that any of the medical professionals refused treatment to any injured or sick person based on ethnicity. The commission also found that the allegations that medical personnel provided protestors with weapons were founded.

At a court hearing on 28 November 2011, the report was submitted in evidence at the request of the legal team representing the medical professionals. At the most recent hearing, on 9 January 2012, the court deferred consideration of the case to a further hearing on 19 March. All of the medical professionals remain at liberty while the current legal proceedings continue. Incidentally, that was a specific call I made on behalf of this country - that all the medical personnel who had been arrested and detained should be released pending the appeal of their cases.

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