John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism when the Government will decide if it will attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games; if he will confirm that whatever decision is made on same will have no bearing on Ireland's participation in the games; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17630/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has been invited by the Olympic Council of Ireland to be represented at the Beijing Olympic Games but at this stage no decision has been taken on the question of Government representation.

The European Parliament recently passed a resolution calling for a common EU position with regard to the attendance at the Olympic Games opening ceremony of the Heads of Government, Heads of State and the EU High Representative, with the option of non-attendance in the event that there is no resumption of dialogue between the Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama. EU Foreign Ministers have not supported calls for a boycott of either the games or the opening ceremony.

The Government has welcomed the meeting on 4 May between the Chinese authorities and representatives of the Dalai Lama in Shenzen. We also welcome indications that a further meeting will now be held over the summer, and hope that these meetings can move quickly to remove any remaining impediments to more substantial talks which could address the issue of autonomy, within the framework of the Chinese constitution.

The Olympic Games issue was discussed on 17 March at an informal meeting of EU Sports Ministers in Slovenia. Ministers expressed their concerns at the political developments in Tibet and suggested that the 2008 Olympic Games might provide the ideal context for an improvement in the human rights landscape. The Ministers took the view that major sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, are an extremely efficient tool for strengthening intercultural dialogue while developing a culture of respect for human rights. At the meeting, there was a consensus that there should be no support for calls for a boycott of the games.

In Ireland, there is much public debate around attendance at the opening ceremony of the games. I understand that the President of the Olympic Council of Ireland has been reported as saying that there is no question of the Irish team boycotting participation in the games. Recently, the International Olympic Committee asked that there be no propaganda or demonstrations at Olympic venues, given the fact that 205 countries are represented, some of which are in conflict, and that the games are not the place to take political or religious stances.

The Government has consistently made its views known on human rights issues in both Tibet and China and we feel it is important to continue to voice our concerns. We should also be cognisant of our hard-working athletes, who only have the chance to compete in the Olympic Games once every four years. The Government has been represented at the last six Olympic Games.

John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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First, I congratulate the Minister on his new post. Whatever about attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, I am sure he might like to witness the return of the Liam McCarthy Cup to Waterford during the year.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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That would be a great pleasure.

John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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On a more serious note, the question I am raising is when the decision will be made and given the Minister's reply, it is obvious that will not happen for some time.

As somebody involved in the sporting field, and having spoken to Mr. John Treacy and noted Mr. Pat Hickey being quoted, they do not want sport to be used in any way as a political vehicle in this sense.

I suppose the best one could hope from ongoing negotiations would be that progress would be made. If that progress is satisfactory — it would be good if the Minister could promote that within a European context — would he expect to attend the opening of the games?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. He has summed up the position extremely well. We are not isolated on this issue. As he can see from the indications I have given in the reply, discussions are taking place within the EU as well, and that is good. There have been some discussions among Foreign Ministers.

There does not seem to be any mood to boycott the games in any way, and I would agree with that. There are questions concerning movement forward in discussions between the Dalai Lama and Chinese authorities. I indicated that a meeting took place on 4 May and the indications from that are there will be a further meeting, which we hope will bring movement on the issues of concern to all of us, on human rights and Tibet, within the framework of the Chinese constitution.

At this stage we do not want to make any rash decisions. As I stated, we have attended the previous six games and, I think, the opening ceremonies as well. Obviously, it is a major event for our athletes and a huge event for the world. Some 205 countries are participating and we would like to see a good outcome on all of the issues pertaining to participation at the games.

As of now, I cannot indicate to the Deputy when a final decision might be taken as the situation is fluid and we are monitoring the discussions taking place.

John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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If progress is not made on these talks with the Chinese, has the Minister any idea what would be the implications for wider economic contacts with China?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I do not want to pre-empt what may come out of the talks. As I stated, there has been a meeting and we welcome that. The indications are that there will be one further meeting at least. Obviously, our wish would be that at that meeting the outstanding matters could be resolved. It is prudent to await the outcome of those talks before we make any further pronouncements on the issue. Certainly, the Government's views on human rights issues have been made clear, both in Tibet and in China, and we would expect that those would be taken into consideration as well.