Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In case there was any confusion earlier, I would never suggest that Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan is not interested in humanitarian aid. She is one of the people in this House for whom I have much regard on issues such as this. She has made a long and distinguished contribution to humanitarian assistance in many conflicts and difficult situations. I want to put that matter to bed. If that was taken from what I said earlier, it is not what I meant.

The motivation behind any decision taken by the Government or I is to try to support democratic decision-making, not the opposite to that. Many Members on the other side of this House put me under pressure all the time for Ireland to do more to intervene when democracy is being undermined, when human rights are abused or when humanitarian relief cannot gain access. How much criticism have I taken in this House for not speaking up in a stronger way to get humanitarian relief into Yemen, but when I say it regarding Venezuela, I am criticised because Members recognise a president in Venezuela that I do not believe to be democratically and fairly elected. There is hypocrisy coming from the other side of the House. What we have tried to do is work with EU partners and other neutral member states. Sweden has taken the same position, as have Austria and Malta. Other countries that are neutral in the EU, which are not aligned militarily, have taken the same position. Most of them took that position before we did to try to have a collective effort and message coming from the EU that we want a peaceful resolution to the matter, not a violent one; that we totally reject any suggestion that there could be military incursions into Venezuela; and that we continue to appeal to all involved, including Mr. Maduro, to facilitate a peaceful and democratic solution to this crisis that has driven millions of people out of his country.

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