Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister said we have human rights standards but, seriously, we are only paying lip service to this. Each year, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation grants billions of euros worth of export licences for dual use goods that are sent by Irish-based firms to some of the most destabilised and war-torn regions on earth. Does the Minister know what role Irish firms may have played in the wide-scale massacre of Yemeni citizens by Saudi Arabia in the last number of months, backed by the US? It beggars belief that we can just totally ignore what is going on in Saudi Arabia. Has the Irish Government objected to the massacre of civilians in Yemen? Does it have any impact whatever on our trade dealing? It does not look like it.

The Minister said he cares. We were able to back the EU on its trade sanctions with Russia but, here, we cannot do enough business with the Saudi Arabians. According to international sources, they are actually beheading more people than ISIS. Would the Minister sell stuff to ISIS if it wanted to buy something off him? I am sure he would not, but he is prepared to sell stuff to Saudi Arabia and do business with it. I do not understand that. There is no consistency.

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