Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 18, inclusive, together.

I made a short visit to the United States on 24 and 25 September. The main focus of the visit was my participation in the United Nations summit on sustainable development. Prior to this, on my arrival in New York on Thursday, 24 September, I travelled with my delegation to Connecticut for a number of engagements, including a visit to Quinnipiac University, on foot of a long-standing invitation from the university's president, Dr. John Lahey.

My visit to Quinnipiac began at the Great Hunger Museum, which has one of the world's largest collections of visual art, artefacts and printed materials relating to the Irish Famine. It also plays a crucial role in promoting public understanding of the Famine through a number of important educational outreach programmes to schools in the state of Connecticut and beyond. I recommend to all Irish people who happen to be in the vicinity of Quinnipiac to visit that outstanding exhibition which portrays different aspects of the Great Hunger in this country in a powerful way. I was honoured to be awarded an honorary degree from the university, which I accepted in honour of all those who lost their lives in the Great Hunger, and those who sought refuge from it in the USA and elsewhere.

I then addressed an invited audience comprising university leaders and benefactors, members of the Irish-American community as well as representatives of business, community, cultural and sporting groups. I was pleased to meet members of the region's vibrant Irish-American community after the ceremony.

Before leaving Connecticut, I visited the corporate headquarters of United Technologies Corporation, UTC, and met the company's senior leadership, including the chief executive, Mr. Gregory Hayes. UTC is an IDA Ireland client company that provides high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building systems industry and which has recently made significant investments in its Irish operations in Shannon and Cork. During my visit, the company announced an expansion of its Irish operations, with an additional investment of €6 million and the creation of a further 20 high-skilled jobs at Shannon.

Later that evening, I met former US President, Mr. Bill Clinton. We had a wide-ranging discussion, including on the Irish economic recovery, a number of international and development issues and the Northern Ireland peace process.

The following morning, I participated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. This was one of the largest gatherings of Heads of State and Government in the history of the United Nations and included an opening address by His Holiness, Pope Francis. The summit formally adopted the post-2015 development agenda, agreed by consensus by the 193 member states of the United Nations, entitled Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This new agenda sets out 17 sustainable development goals and 169 targets aimed at tackling key systemic barriers to sustainable development, such as inequality, unsustainable consumption and production patterns, inadequate infrastructure and lack of decent jobs. The environmental dimension of sustainable development is covered in the goals on climate change, oceans and marine resources, and ecosystems and biodiversity.

I pay tribute to Ireland's ambassador, H.E. Mr. David Donoghue, and his team at the Irish permanent mission to the United Nations in New York because it was he who co-facilitated the negotiation of this agreement together with the ambassador of Kenya to the United Nations. One should be under no illusions about the scale of the work H.E. Mr. Donoghue put into that document, which was accepted unanimously by 193 member states of the United Nations. The selection of this country as one of the two co-facilitator member states was an important and appropriate recognition of our country's proud record, both within the United Nations processes and as a strong supporter of the development agenda.

In my address to the summit, I indicated Ireland's strong commitment to this agreement which should galvanise action to end extreme poverty, hunger and under-nutrition as well as expediting progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. I also took the opportunity to reiterate that Ireland's development aid programme will remain central to our foreign policy and that we will continue to work with our partners towards the elimination of extreme hunger and malnutrition by 2030. This was not a suitable opportunity to raise specific issues such as Palestine.

As I indicated in the House on 6 October, in the margins of the summit I held a bilateral meeting with President al-Sisi of Egypt. I was accompanied by Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with responsibility for development, trade promotion and North-South co-operation, Deputy Sean Sherlock, and officials. During this meeting, I raised the case of Ibrahim Halawa, the young Irish citizen on trial in Egypt. I made very clear the Government's desire that Ibrahim should be able to return home to Ireland.

I said it would be in the interests of both our countries for us to resolve the position in a positive way. I also stressed to President el-Sisi the considerable public interest in Ireland regarding Mr. Halawa's case, as well as the concerns which have been expressed in the Oireachtas. President el-Sisi and I also discussed regional issues including development co-operation and the aid programmes that Ireland undertakes in sub-Saharan Africa in the context of the refugee crisis. The discussions I had over the course of this visit did not touch upon the situation in Palestine.

Following my attendance at the summit, I officially opened Irish TV's new office on Park Avenue in New York, further expanding the international reach of the company. I also met briefly with representatives of Irish groups in New York, including a group of young Irish entrepreneurs and digital executives who were honoured that week as top-40 digital leaders, and representatives of the GAA community. Representatives of the Irish Government agencies in Ireland House, namely, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland, were also present.

Before leaving New York, I met briefly with Professor Klaus Schwab, the executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. We discussed the organisation's work, as well as Ireland's ongoing engagement with the forum, which continues to provide an exceptional opportunity to interact with key investors and business representatives. Overall, it was a successful visit, with much ground covered in a very short time. I am pleased that it afforded such useful opportunities at bilateral level and a platform from which to articulate Ireland's firm commitment to the sustainable development goals.

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