Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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4. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 86 of 29 January 2019, if, in his continued monitoring of the reports of ill treatment of eight female activists in a prison in Saudi Arabia, he has given further consideration to establishing an all-party delegation to visit these detainees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9755/19]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I am asking the Tánaiste to show a bit of moral backbone and commitment to human rights and women's rights.

Will the Tánaiste ask the Saudi Government to provide an all-party group from the House with access to investigate the very credible allegations of abuse, torture and unjust imprisonment of women's rights and human rights activists in Saudi prisons?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Recent reforms in the socio-economic sphere in Saudi Arabia have been overshadowed by reports from the UN and a number of human rights agencies of an intensive crackdown on domestic dissent and a near total restriction of the civil society space. Reports of torture, abuse and dire detention conditions for the prisoners in question are worrying. It is unacceptable that women should be imprisoned, let alone mistreated in any way, for peacefully seeking their basic rights. The Irish embassy in Riyadh works with other EU member states to ensure that human rights issues in Saudi Arabia are addressed. The EU delegation in Riyadh has raised the cases in question directly with the Saudi authorities on multiple occasions and at various levels. Ireland has consistently raised Saudi human rights issues bilaterally with the Saudi embassy in Dublin and at international fora. I am aware of the report issued by a cross-party panel of British Members of Parliament who had requested to visit the prisoners in question and I understand that many Members of the Oireachtas may be deeply concerned about the issue also. The question of the establishment of a cross-party delegation is, however, a matter for the Oireachtas.

Promoting respect for human rights is a cornerstone of Ireland's foreign policy. Ireland has consistently supported the human rights of prisoners and detainees and continually advocates for the freedom of civil society actors to operate in a safe and enabling environment. Through our engagement at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, Ireland works tirelessly to combat all forms of discrimination against women and to safeguard the rights of those deprived of their liberty. During the last universal periodic review of Saudi Arabia's human rights record at the Human Rights Council in November 2018, Ireland registered its concern about the imprisonment of human rights defenders and recommended that Saudi Arabia bring its laws into line with international standards for the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. My Department will continue to monitor these distressing cases and will continue to relay Ireland's concerns to the Saudi authorities at bilateral and international fora.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I brought two Saudi citizens who are human rights activists to Leinster House. This woman and this man cannot go back to Saudi Arabia as they would be tortured and imprisoned if they did. That is what is happening over there. Expressing words of concern and making recommendations is meaningless. It is laughable. Saudi Arabia is on the UN Human Rights Council at the same time that it is refusing access to an all-party group to investigate the imprisonment and torture of women activists in Saudi prisons. Are we going to allow this to continue or are we going to do something? The Government must not hide behind the skirts of the EU. In fact, the EU Parliament has overwhelmingly passed a strong condemnation of what Saudi Arabia is doing. Germany has imposed an arms embargo while the British Government, which, let us be honest, is compromised in relation to Saudi Arabia, has at least made the request to send an all-party group. What is the Government going to do to show some commitment to addressing the foul human rights abuses being conducted by the Saudi regime?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We are already doing things. I am not quite sure what the Deputy is suggesting we do. This week, the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, and I were at the Human Rights Council in Geneva and in a contribution I made I referred specifically to the need to protect human rights defenders. I have met the Saudi ambassador in Dublin on two occasions to talk about Yemen and the Khashoggi case with particular reference to the promise of an independent investigation. There is engagement with the Saudi embassy in Dublin and in international fora, in particular at UN level, and there have been multiple discussions within the EU on human rights concerns in Yemen and the need for Saudi Arabia to ensure solutions are implemented which move away from war and violence towards the protection of civilians. I am happy to explore any new approach that we can take. In my experience, getting results in international politics requires one to talk to people, not simply engage in grandstanding. We will take on board any suggestions the Deputy has, but they need to actually work.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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First, the Tánaiste's methods are not working.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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What are the Deputy's?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Bin Salman says he will implement reforms for women and then simply locks up a lot of women. He tortures and abuses them and cracks down on human rights. Germany is not afraid to take unilateral action so why are we? Even Britain, which has a huge trade with Saudi Arabia, has politicians who are putting it up to the Saudi Government. We are not. Expressing concern is not enough. I ask simply that the Irish Government makes a formal request for access for an all-party group to visit the prisoners and assess the allegations of torture and abuse, ask for the prisoners to be released and, if not, say we will have to consider sanctions. That is what I want the Government to say to Saudi Arabia. If the Government does not do so, why would Saudi Arabia bother listening to any of these expressions of concern or recommendations?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The straight answer to that question is that I do not think Saudi Arabia is going to act on the basis of threats from Ireland.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It is a request, not a threat.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy just said that if they do not do it, we should threaten sanctions. We need to be realistic about what we can do here. That does not mean we should not ask the hard questions. In fact, we are asking them. My understanding is that the request by a British parliamentary delegation to visit the prisons concerned has not been granted. If access is not granted to a UK delegation, it is unlikely it will be granted to an Irish one.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Let us ask and add some pressure.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We should be honest about what actions are likely to achieve a result.