Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am not familiar with the role of the Irish-Saudi Arabia Business Council. Will Irish businesswomen be involved in the council? I accept it is important to open new markets and the Tánaiste mentioned the €900 million of trade but we must also take into account the human rights situation of citizens not just in Saudi Arabia but in Bahrain, where the Saudi Government is the power behind the throne. The sectarian nature of society in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is also worrying. How is that taken into account when opening up these accounts? When sectarianism was a factor in governing the North, many foreign Governments and companies took the McBride principles into account. Do we work to any set of principles when dealing with regimes in this part of the world?

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