Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

It is difficult to overstate the human rights crisis in China. It is estimated that more than 1 million Uyghurs have been put into re-education camps in China since 2014. Subjects there suffer torture, women are forcibly sterilised, women have forced birth control and forced abortions, and products are being made in slave situations, with many such products finding their way into western society.

Mr. Pat Leahy reported in The Irish Timeslast week that the Irish Government’s approach to these issues in terms of raising human rights was very weak. He stated that one person he spoke to in the diplomatic corps said off the record that they "are mentioned briefly, essentially to allow us to say we have raised them. The Chinese know to expect it and move on quickly." Another diplomat said there was a "bit of a dance" and that, if the Irish mention human rights, the Chinese say they are in favour of them and everyone then gets down to business. Is that the truth? Is it the case that, in reality, we have a veneer of a discussion on the issue of human rights or is it a core objective of the Irish Government to ensure people in China are protected?

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