Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I do not often get the chance to speak on foreign affairs issues so I welcome this opportunity. I wish to record my appreciation of all of the staff in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, both in Dublin and serving abroad. We have been incredibly well served since the foundation of the State by the Department and its fantastic officials. Those of us who have had the privilege of serving in the Government are very aware of the specialism of the staff, particularly those working abroad.

I have learned more in the last ten minutes about the OSCE than any briefing could have provided. Deputy Phelan and Deputy Spring spoke about the practical work it does. One assumed it operated on high level international treaties and the like, which take a long time to impact on people's lives, but after hearing the Deputies' contributions one can see the practical impact it has. As Deputy Spring mentioned, that type of work is done but the only focus is on the cost of flights and hotels. We have reached a bad juncture if we are working to try and change people's lives and that is the only coverage it gets. The work of the OSCE is hidden behind a bushel and, as parliamentarians, we must do much more to promote it. We must inject it into people's consciousness and show the practical examples of its work, which Deputy Spring discussed.

The world tends to forget it is not long ago that very dreadful divisions characterised Europe in the 1940s and 1950s. It is also not long ago that we saw one of the most shameful episodes in world history in the Balkans. However, we tend to move on and forget about them. With the current need to concentrate on economic issues we tend to forget about the human rights agenda. The OSCE is keeping that to the fore. I will make one political point. The argument has been made by this Government that our reputation abroad was destroyed and shattered but it should be remembered that the invitation to chair the OSCE came during the term of the last Government and was secured by the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin. That said, I commend the Tánaiste and the team for the manner in which they have taken the chairmanship on board.

I particularly commend them on the conference they held in March on political transparency and corruption, which was addressed by Elaine Byrne, among others. One of the concerns I have about where the OSCE is going is that Ireland will hand over the chair next year to Ukraine. We want the OSCE to promote political best practice, democracy and proper governance and standards within politics, but at this time next year will the Ukrainian Parliament have the same ability to speak freely about its government's role? One sees the current situation in Ukraine of former Prime Minister Tymoshenko, while Freedom House describes Ukraine as only partially free. There are also issues with elections there. However, we will hand over the chair of this very important organisation, for both democracy and Europe, to Ukraine next year. Questions must be asked about the robustness of the governance of the organisation. To quote the old saying, it is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. It will dilute and diminish the work the Government is putting into the running of the organisation this year.

The other issue is whether the organisation has a mission. With the balance of power shifting to the east, where will the OSCE fit in? It must redefine and examine how it involves countries in the east as well as the BRIC - Brazil, Russia, India and China - countries and how they can play a much more fundamental role in the running of the organisation than at present. The world is no longer focused on Europe and America, with everybody else taking their place in the choir behind them. All the world's organisations will have to develop a new way of thinking and working as the world changes. Rather than being behind the curve, as many of the political organisations are, this is a chance for the OSCE to move to the front and lead the debate on where world politics is going and on standards. It must challenge politicians, member countries and its representatives in various organisations to think differently about development, economic and social issues in the context of how the world is evolving. If ever there was a need for an organisation to fulfil that role, there is now. Many of the other organisations, unfortunately, are getting involved in the economic area, because they must. There is a chance now for the OSCE to put forward a series of human rights related agendas and to keep to the fore issues that are no longer prominent because of the necessary concentration on economics.

Ireland's role is greatly enhanced by our experience with the peace process. While big conferences are beneficial and it is great that so many attend them, a peace process, like diplomacy, is hard work, taking two steps forward and ten steps back. What we have to bring to the table is the experience of the peace process and everything that went into it. There is a far greater role for this country to play in terms of using that experience with organisations such as the OSCE and other worldwide organisations. Irish people can come to the fore by using that experience and the traits we have learned through that process and applying them to other world conflicts, and by bringing our knowledge of the process to those conflicts. If by the end of this year we had some type of template to do that, it would be a huge achievement. It could be left as a mark of our year as chair. The chairmanship does not come around very often and we might not hold it again, but that would be a permanent legacy. In 20 years people might say that it was a model put in place during the Irish chairmanship.

However, as a country we should not be afraid to challenge other countries within the organisation. I refer in particular to Ukraine. It is not good that it will take over, particularly given all the questions about that country. That chairmanship will have the capacity to undermine the progress we might make this year and the progress other countries have made.

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