Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the Taoiseach's visit to Spain and wish to raise the ongoing political crisis in Catalonia. Did the Taoiseach raise the issue with the new Spanish Prime Minister? The silence from many European states has been deafening when it comes to condemnation of political repression in Catalonia, which has been orchestrated mainly by the Spanish Government. There are now nine political prisoners jailed and awaiting trial for so-called rebellion for organising last year's independence referendum. In Germany, an extradition warrant for the former President, Carles Puigdemont, was declined because the court decided there was no evidence of any form of violence by the organiser of the referendum and, in Belgium, we had the bizarre spectacle of prosecutors urging a court to throw out the warrant request for two former Catalan Ministers. The position that political repression in Catalonia is an internal matter for Spain is no longer a practical way of moving forward. The Government needs to condemn the Spanish Government for jailing political prisoners and political activists and I sincerely hope the Taoiseach raised concerns about these matters in his recent visit.

ETA recently announced a definitive end to the organisation and created a historic opportunity for the Spanish Government to send a positive signal of its intent to embrace a peace process in that region, which is long overdue. Basque prisoners dispersed throughout Spain need to be brought back home as an initial step in that process. On 10 June, over 175,000 people from across the Basque region formed a 200 km human chain across the country demanding the right of these prisoners to be brought home and that of the people of the Basque region to democratically decide their own future. I am sure whether the Taoiseach is aware of these events. Did he raise them with the Spanish Prime Minister in his recent visit?

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