Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am aware most of the business links are in an agricultural format. The heart of this issue is that we have to use whatever economic clout we have to put manners on or to influence authorities in other regimes where there are human rights violations. Not to do so would place profit over people.

The feeling was articulated clearly by the Australian captive who shared a cell with Ibrahim Halawa, Peter Greste, who said the Australian Government had lobbied forcibly for his release. The softly-softly approach of the Irish Government has not been sufficient. We should be pulling out the stops in terms of our agricultural dealings or whatever because it is not a different judicial process. It is a system of mass imprisonment, torture and appalling human rights violations in a completely undemocratic and unaccountable regime. We have to do more in this regard.

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