Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Our trade with Saudi Arabia is important. It is worth €900 million at a time when we have a huge number of people out of work in this country. We have suffered an economic difficulty and must trade our way out of that. That means we must export and this is an important export market. It is overwhelmingly in our favour, running at €850 million in exports and €50 million in imports. Our commitment to human rights and the rights of women is among the best in the world and we do not equivocate on that or compromise on it. Those rights are universal and it is our view that expanding our trade relationship provides us with an opportunity to engage with countries on human rights issues.

See this speech in context