Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Cosúil leis an cainteoir deireannach, ba mhaith liom ádh mór a ghuí ar an Tánaiste sa bhliain atá roimhe. Is dúshlán mór é don Tánaiste agus d'Éire an post seo a chomhlíonadh chomh maith agus is féidir leo agus chomh maith agus a ligfear dóibh. Beidh tairbhe le fáil as, ní hamháin do na tíortha lena mbeidh siad ag cuidiú le linn an tréimhse ach d'Éire amach anseo ó thaobh na honóra atá bronnta ar Éire mar chathaoir ar an eagras rí-thábhachtach seo. In ainneoin aon argóint nó díospóireacht maidir le caiteachas agus a leithéid, táim sásta tacaíocht a thabhairt an ról seo a chur chun cinn.

To follow on from my last point, I commend the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and its funding of €150 million is money well spent. My only criticism is that much of this work should have been done by the UN for many years. However, this was not possible due to the restrictions imposed by some on the UN's ability to work and the failure by some governments over time to fully enhance the work of the UN.

It is an honour for Ireland to chair the organisation which has more than 500 employees and many operations throughout the European Union and beyond in partnership with other countries who are not full members. It is a forum for dialogue and negotiation. The Tánaiste referred in his contribution to the recent conference which is an example of Ireland sharing with other countries the experiences of the Irish peace process, including the mistakes to be avoided. However, the key point is that our process was ultimately successful well beyond the initial expectations of many. The conference was attended by Senator George Mitchell and Martti Ahtisaari and they related their experiences in Ireland and in other places. I am confident the Tánaiste, in his term as chairman, will expound the message that dialogue works. If nothing else we have learned in Ireland that although we have our differences both in this Chamber and with regard to the shared histories on this island and on the politics of the future, that conflict is the result if one is not willing to talk. One of the key lessons is that no conflict is intractable. Anyone looking at Ireland 30 years ago would have questioned what hope existed for peace in Ireland. We have come a long way very quickly and there are many other international examples of intractable conflicts being resolved to some degree with an ability to put the past where the past should be and to make an effort to build a future which is based on the recognition of human rights. This is also the key focus of OSCE.

I encourage the Tánaiste to put forward the concept of human security that has been espoused throughout the world and to address the underlying causes and long-term implications of conflicts which is more beneficial than trying to address the wars. The underlying causes of that insecurity must be addressed in the first instance. The concept of human security is vital and it does not exist on its own as there are overlapping concepts such as national security. It is often the case that the needs, rights and the problems of individuals and of groups within societies who are in conflict are overlooked.

I urge the Tánaiste to use some of the conference meetings to promote that concept as much as possible. It is a progressive concept which would also address some of the concerns to which the Tánaiste referred in his contribution with regard to the Internet. Restrictions on press freedom on the Internet are often sought under the guise of national security. Much has been lost, at least temporarily, under the guise of the war on terror. I welcome the upcoming conference on Internet freedom to be held in Dublin. The Internet has become a toy for the whole world. It provides freedom but also presents a challenge because with full freedom comes responsibility. It is a case of juggling the two.

I refer to the views of Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE media freedom representative who stated there is a witch hunt in some OSCE countries and beyond against bloggers and journalists. She stated that media professionals worry about themselves and their families if they write particular stories or make the wrong comments on social media. The television and radio media in the past also posed a threat to societies at the time because of the freedom potential of new technology.

I wish the conference in June well and hopefully it will send out a message to the OSCE countries and also beyond to the likes of the United States. It may encourage those within the European Parliament who are looking at the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement. Those campaigning for more Internet freedom have described it as SOPA on steroids, the US anti-piracy laws. It is hoped the European Parliament will postpone the passage of ACTA until such time as there has been full and proper debate on Internet freedoms to ensure those freedoms are neither abused nor restricted.

The other part of the Tánaiste's work will be to liaise with partnership countries as well. There are a number of those in the Mediterranean region in which the Tánaiste has taken an interest. We have seen the Arab Spring uprisings and revolutions in various countries around the Mediterranean, which pose a challenge. They include what happened in Libya and what is unfolding in Syria. Having travelled with the Tánaiste to the West Bank, I know what is happening in regard to Palestine. One of the OSCE partners is Israel which, as the end of 2010, welcomed Ireland as the next chairmanship-on-office of that body. In that statement, Israel assured its full co-operation and support for Ireland's successful chairmanship. Hopefully that will bear fruit because much of world has looked upon the problems of that area as being intractable. I do not believe they are intractable, however, because with dialogue and a concentration of minds we can get delivery of a solution which has been sought by the UN. I wish the Tánaiste well in talks, negotiations and dialogue with the Israelis during the period of Ireland's OSCE chairmanship.

There are other key items in the agenda and hopefully the Tánaiste will also make progress on the arms trade within Europe and on its borders. Arms production is still at an unacceptable level and should be reduced much further. That is a challenge for the EU and its defence agency, which should also play a role in reducing the amount of weapons that are produced, not only in Europe but throughout the world. The arms trade should be continually reduced so that we can have a safer world, not just a safer Europe. The money that is spent on arms, and thus diverted away from society, should be spent more productively. It should be invested in new technologies, including wind energy. If the money that is spent on the global arms industry was put into new technologies, we would have a more stable world and a lot less starvation.

I welcome the fact that Ireland has this major challenge ahead but, in my view, it is also a great honour. I wish the Tánaiste well in that regard. Hopefully, there will be a positive outcome from it. Our OSCE chairmanship should be used to promote Ireland's positive neutrality, our UN role, and our history in terms of conflict resolution.

Tá súil agam go mbeidh rath ar an obair agus, ag deireadh na bliana seo, go mbeimid in ann a rá gur éirigh go maith leis an gceannaireacht a bhfuil an domhain ag tnúth leis ó Éirinn sa tréimhse seo.

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