Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

All of us in the House are very concerned at recent developments in Catalonia. The recent decision by Spain's supreme court to sentence nine Catalonian politicians and activists to jail terms of between nine and 13 years and to fine three others has brought violence to the streets of Barcelona. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to protest against these sentences and a general strike took place last Friday. My party is very concerned about these developments in Spain. We recognise this is a very sensitive, legal and constitutional issue for the Spanish Government, its people and the Catalonian region. A new constitution was enacted in Spain in 1978 and 17 autonomous communities were established at that time. The 1978 constitution clearly states there exists a single nation and that it is indivisible.

Fianna Fáil supports the rule of law and the territorial integrity of Spain. We recognise that Spain is a country in which there is a great degree of economic, social and cultural diversity. The independence referendum held in October 2017 and deemed illegal by Spain's constitutional court resulted in the gravest crisis in the country's 42 years of democracy. This is a highly complex and sensitive matter and it is apparent that there are divergent views and divisions about Catalonia and whether it should be an independent nation. These diverging views can be found in the region itself and more widely in Spain.

While acknowledging the complexities of this situation and the diverging opinions on this issue, Fianna Fáil is of the view that the independence referendum held on 1 October 2017 lacked legal validity, as did the decision of the Catalonian Parliament to declare independence from Spain on Friday, 27 October 2017. We believe this is an internal matter for Spain and that any actions taken must be in keeping with country's legal and constitutional framework. At this stage, every effort should be made to encourage dialogue between the Spanish and Catalonian Governments and between the acting Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the Catalonian President Quim Torra, to try to resolve the crisis, bring an end to the violence and stabilise relationships. We need to see a de-escalation of tension in Catalonia and a satisfactory outcome that accords with the Spanish constitution, democratic principles and the rule of law.

The European institutions, where practical and feasible, should use their influence and considerable experience to try to de-escalate the tension in the region. Stability in the EU nation state of Spain is in all of our interests. As the Minister of State has said, Ireland has a very close relationship with Spain. For example, in 2017 there were approximately 2 million visits from Ireland to Spain. In 2018, 423,000 Spanish visitors came to Ireland. A total of 35,000 Spanish students visit Ireland every year, which all of us see, particularly during the summer months.

Many of us have visited the beautiful, historic and cultural city of Barcelona. It was heartbreaking to see the violence on the streets there in the past couple of weeks. Almost 600 people received medical treatment following the violence on the streets last week and 194 people were arrested. I hope common sense will prevail, that peace and stability can be brought to the region as soon as possible and that there will be goodwill on all sides to bring this about.

I welcome the statement from the Minister of State that our ambassador and officials based in the Irish Embassy in Madrid continue to follow developments and that our embassy is in contact with the Spanish Government. The embassy is closely monitoring the situation, according to the Minister of State, with regard to the demonstrations. It is important that we are fully briefed on all of these matters.

This is indeed a very difficult and complex situation and is one which I hope can be resolved. I note that the protestors at the weekend were calling on Spain to talk. This will certainly be resolved by dialogue and all of us should contribute to bringing about that dialogue and bringing about peace and stability in the region.

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