Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 71: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the media reports which suggest that a court in Switzerland has found that a family (details supplied) is entitled to millions of dollars held in bank accounts in that country, money which had been previously awarded to aid groups; his views on these reports; and if it is proposed that the EU would make its stance on this known and oppose the ruling. [7361/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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On foot of a request by the Haitian authorities, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice decided in February 2009 that funds linked to the former president of Haiti, Jean Claude Duvalier, should be returned to the people of Haiti. The Swiss Federal Criminal Court upheld this decision in August, confirming that the funds in question were of criminal origin. Following a further appeal, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that the funds should not be returned to Haiti. The Federal Supreme Court did not call into question the decision regarding the criminal origins of the assets, but found that the statute of limitations on any crimes committed by the Duvalier family would, according to Swiss law, have expired in 2001.

The Swiss Government responded quickly to the decision of the Federal Supreme Court. As no further appeal was possible under the Swiss legal system, the Government invoked a provision in its constitution which enabled it to issue an emergency decree to block the release of the funds. The Swiss Government has also instructed its Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to finalise the text of draft legislation regarding the confiscation of illegal assets. It aims to present the new draft law to the Swiss Parliament for its consideration as soon as possible and that in the meantime, the funds will remain frozen.

I welcome the swift response of the Swiss Government to block the release of the assets in this case. I also welcome the fact that the drafting of new legislation concerning the confiscation of illegally acquired assets is underway. Given the scale of the challenges facing Haiti in the wake of the recent devastating earthquake, it is a matter of regret that legal constraints currently prevent the speedy transfer of the funds for the benefit of the Haitian people. The Swiss Government fully supports the return of the assets held in the Duvalier accounts to Haiti and I hope that this will be possible in due course.

Switzerland is an important contributor to the international relief effort for Haiti. The Swiss Government is providing over €5 million in humanitarian aid to Haiti. It has also pledged to provide further assistance to Haiti after the emergency relief phase is ended.

The EU has not adopted a formal position on this particular case. The recent ruling by the Federal Supreme Court and the subsequent response of the Swiss Government have not been jointly discussed by member states to date, nor has the EU raised the matter directly with the Swiss Government. However, I am satisfied that concerns at the implications of the Federal Supreme Court's decision will have been allayed by the speed with which the Swiss authorities moved to block the release of the funds. Additional information not provided on the floor of the House.

By its actions, the Swiss Government has clearly demonstrated its commitment to ensuring that this money will be finally returned to the people of Haiti as soon as new domestic legislation empowering it to do so is in place.

The humanitarian needs of the Haitian people are enormous. Ireland's response to the crisis has been swift and effective. We have provided more than €3 million to the relief effort in Haiti through both direct financing and in-kind assistance. In addition, Ireland will make a significant multi-annual pledge at an international conference for the reconstruction of Haiti which will take place in April.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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I am grateful for the Minister's reply. There is no difference between the Minister and I on the volume or quality of Irish aid in response to recent events in Haiti. However, I would like to ask about a co-ordinated response at EU level.

Between 1830 and 1947, Haiti paid reparations to slave owners through the banking system in Paris. The removal of Jean Bertrand Aristide from power in 2003 had the support of President Chirac. President Aristide, on behalf of the people of Haiti, had asked for the return of $21.7 billion that had been paid by people in Haiti to former French slave owners. I have been concerned at the amnesia that has happened in respect of the people in Haiti. It is being suggested that they are just unfortunate people in a hurricane and earthquake prone region. The fact is that the country was exploited by France, thousands were killed in the 1930s by the US, and they had to get rid of the British.

Is the Minister asking at EU level for the Swiss Government to accede to the opening of what I call dictatorship accounts? The Duvalier family, who were dictators for 30 years, stand to benefit to the extent of $5.7 million, at a time when the people they robbed are starving. Will there be an Irish request for a common position at EU level? The Minister has stated that no such common position exists, and this might not be unrelated to the French participation in extracting payments for the benefit of slave owners.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We will be seeking such a common position, although Switzerland does not maintain an institutionalised political dialogue with the EU due to its traditional policy of neutrality. Having said that, there should be a common response from the EU on this issue and we will be raising it at the next available opportunity.

Switzerland is a traditional location for the transfer of such funds, due to banking secrecy rules and so on. There have been reforms in recent decades that have made it harder to hide money in Switzerland. There have been examples in Nigeria and the Philippines, where substantial sums of ill gotten gains by dictators were returned. I do not disagree with what the Deputy has said and I will be raising the issue at EU level.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Does the Minister agree that the Swiss position fundamentally changed when it decided, at a late stage, to join the United Nations, despite previously enjoying the benefit of having United Nations institutions located in Geneva? The issue is that dictatorship funds and illegal African debt - money robbed from aid organisations - have transferred through Liechtenstein and Luxembourg into Swiss banks. In the case of the Duvalier family, it is interesting that the French position was that it was happy to have the elected President of Haiti exiled to the Central African Republic while it supplied residence for the remnants of the Duvalier family which had been robbing the people of Haiti for two generations.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am broadly in agreement and do not have any issue with the Minister - my apologies, the Deputy - and I am supportive of his impulse and instincts in this matter.