Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for those supplementary remarks. The actual thrust of the Topical Issue made no reference to the upcoming census so I could have better information on that. The census is being carried out in the context of forthcoming elections. As the Deputy mentioned, there has been no census for 30 years and the EU is indeed part funding the taking of the census and the organisation of it.

I will be meeting the ambassador of Bangladesh in the next few days. Certainly it is an issue I can take up with him because many of the Rohingya people are originally from Bangladesh. I will be attending the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday where I will be addressing the council on human rights. In addition, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana, will give a special report on human rights at the council so it will be an opportunity to raise it again. I can come back to the Deputy with further information in respect of the specific issue of the census. Indeed, if he wishes to raise a Topical Issue on the census in Myanmar, I would be very happy to come back to the House.

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