Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Most of my talking is done at committee meetings, and I had not intended to make a contribution today because I am sure the Minister of State is fed up listening to me repeat myself. However, I note the contributions from speakers and I support the report, because it has been moulded by those of us on the committee. I suppose it is a bit self-congratulatory if one starts to recognise the wonderful report before Members of the House who are not on the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, but I would like to think the 166 Members of the Dáil will read and absorb the report.

To my amazement, the Leader of Fianna Fáil, in a very interesting contribution on Tuesday, spoke about our committee eloquently and suggested that it was a very hard-working one but that it did not get the publicity it deserved. In a break with tradition, he went on to applaud myself, Deputy Durkan and the hard-working Fianna Fáil representative, Deputy Smith, on the work we did in tackling the Russian ambassador who attempted to exonerate his position on Ukraine. In fairness to the leader of Fianna Fáil, he recognised the contribution of the members of the committee in not being cowed or intimidated by the Russia ambassador. I thought that was noteworthy.

The more I hear in this debate on foreign affairs and trade, the more I think there seems to be a warm and almost all-party approach to the work of the committee and a recognition of the progress being made by it. I said "almost all-party" because of the Sinn Féin position as outlined by Deputy Crowe. I refer to the issue of whether we should send trade delegations to countries while condemning their human rights records. We have been to Iran and are very conscious of the human rights abuses there. We had the opportunity, through the Iranian human rights council, which is headed up by a very senior and well-known politician, to explain our feelings on public executions of gay people in gyms and the stoning to death of women allegedly engaged in adultery and so on. We had the door to a specific Minister opened to us to highlight human rights. If one was to carry the Sinn Féin position to its logical conclusion, then I think we would have to stop trading with the BRIC countries.

I spent a very productive hour and a half, as did Deputy Smith, with the representative of the international affairs section of the Chinese Communist Party. Of course people will say "Look at human rights in China and at what the Chinese are doing to the Falun Gong, the Uyghurs and others," but, as politicians, we must be very clear with ourselves and in our policies.

We are doing much work in Uganda but it has just passed atrocious legislation criminalising homosexuality which, I think, can result in a death sentence. As politicians, how do we balance our feelings about such laws with our desire to engage in serious trade relations with countries which are not at all like ours? I think Deputy Crowe projected a sort of semi-elitism in his attitude that this is a liberal democracy and, therefore, we have all the correct attributes in respect of human rights, as though this were the perfect society. He mentioned Saudi Arabia and there is also Iran. Naturally, there are huge differences between the policies and structures in an Islamic republic and those in a liberal democracy. It is time we respected each other's positions.

I congratulate the Saudis on the King Abdullah scholarships. Very serious academics are being sent all over the world, including to UCD, on scholarships funded by King Abdullah. I believe the king is attempting to institute reforms. When one looks at Saudi Arabia, one must look at the tribal networks, the desert tribes and the conservatism in certain districts which dominate political dialogue about Islam and Western standards.

We have huge trade links with Russia, but what sort of democracy is it, given its involvement in Crimea and Ukraine? We deal with various societies which are at various levels and stages of development. We hear the term "developing countries" all the time. Should we pull out of Uganda because of the outrageous abuse of human rights by way the legislation it has passed? I would say we should not but, in any case, we have a lot to learn and we are learning all the time. As the Ceann Comhairle is probably aware, we did not realise there were female members of the Knesset whose hands we should not shake. Culturally, I assumed that was an Islamic thing and that one did not shake the hands of certain women of the Islamic faith. However, it also applies to conservative Jewish people. We must learn about the different cultures and then develop trade links.

I would argue that there is nothing as wonderful as having large numbers of Saudi and Iranian students attending colleges and universities here, because they cannot but benefit from the cultural experiences they have. They can translate them and bring them back to their own countries.

For example, I know a Saudi Arabian woman resident in Ireland who I have assisted in taking driving lessons and who has learned to drive a car. The Saudi woman I helped learn to drive will be very disappointed that she will not be allowed drive a car when she goes home. At the same time, over 60% of students in third level institutions in Iran are women. Its students are extremely bright and it is important they are exposed to new concepts. There are cultural differences with which we have to come to terms.

When the committee was visiting Iran, it was rather low of RTE to concentrate on the issue of our Iranian counterparts not shaking hands with female members of our delegation. What kind of position is that from an interviewer in RTE who sees the development of links between Ireland depending on shaking hands? We are a multicultural society and it is time RTE caught up with that fact.

I compliment the committee chairman, Deputy Pat Breen, on developing a procedure in which we can examine long-standing conflicts in the world. He has taken the decision to engage with the Cypriots, members of the European Union, to address the long-standing division of the island of Cyprus between the north with the Turks and the south with the Greeks. It was important for the committee to debate this matter in-depth with a view to understanding the conflict and using our good offices to assist the talks process that might bring about the island’s reunification.

I congratulate the chairman for addressing another similar long-standing dispute in the Tindouf province in the Western Sahara, one that has gone on for over 40 years like Cyprus. The committee has all the time been lobbied by the Moroccans, the Algerians and the Polisario Front on this matter and we tended to refer them to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The chairman will now allow the committee to undertake an in-depth analysis of this conflict which might lead us to discover that the Department’s policy, decided 40 years ago, has outlived its position. Such an examination may allow us to offer our services to the Algerians and other parties involved and to intervene in creating better conditions for those unfortunates stuck in Tindouf. If one knew its conditions, one would not like to spend a night there, let alone 40 years.

I congratulate the chairman on the work he has done so far with the committee.

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