Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Irish Embassy in Vietnam, which is accredited to Myanmar, as the Deputy will be aware, is closely monitoring the situation. In September 2013, the ambassador travelled to Rakhine State to assess the situation. Most recently, the ambassador visited the area on 23 May 2014 and met the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the region. At that meeting he expressed Ireland’s concerns about the situation of the Rohingya people in Rakhine State and the need for unhindered humanitarian access to the region.

At EU level, EU Foreign Ministers, at the Foreign Affairs Council on 12 May 2014, approved the establishment of a formal EU-Myanmar human rights dialogue.

The first dialogue took place in Myanmar on 20 May. During that dialogue, the EU and Myanmar took stock of the current situation of human rights on both sides. They covered major issues of concern for human rights, in particular, the area of political prisoners, freedom of expression, hate speech, economic, social and cultural rights, land rights, business and human rights. The situation in Rakhine state was also discussed. I acknowledge the interest of Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan in this area and I assure her and other Members of the House of an ongoing Government commitment towards assisting in this region.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Regarding the Rohingya in Myanmar-Burma, Ireland calls for more investment in early recovery and support for livelihood opportunities for both communities in Rakhine state. Economic integration and inter-dependency can be a vehicle for co-operation and peace between the communities. A longer-term Government of Myanmar-Burma strategy for rehabilitation and reconciliation is also required.

In terms of our support for the Rohingya community here in Ireland, 82 members of the Rohingya community were settled in Carlow and five others were settled in Dublin in 2009 in response to the UNHCR’s call for temporary arrangements to be made for the Rohingya until the situation stabilises in Rakhine. Currently, the EU is providing around €70 million to the people of Rakhine state, most of which is used to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of the region. The EU will provide €688 million in development aid to Myanmar-Burma over the period 2014 to 2020. The EU will also provide more than €46 million in funding to neighbouring states that have received Rohingya people fleeing from Rakhine due to inter-ethnic violence. Ireland will continue, through relevant bilateral and multilateral channels, to press the authorities in Myanmar to address the serious situation in Rakhine state, as part of a continuing process of democratic transformation.

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