Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

Recent data has shown that over 1,700 applications were lodged with the so-called Turkish Cypriot authorities for the purchase and construction of property in the first eight months of 2004, equalling the total number of applications for the previous three years. Those engaging in such activities are liable to legal and economic ramifications as evidenced by a recent court decision against a British couple in the Republic of Cyprus. In addition, the property and ownership rights of Greek Cypriots with property in the occupied area has been recognised by the European Court of Human Rights in the Loizidou case and other similar cases which confirmed, inter alia, that Turkey bears responsibility for the continuing violation of their property rights.

There is an old saying — it is a bit of a cliché now but is nonetheless relevant — that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. There is a moral dimension to this argument for those of us in this country because of our history. Given our heavy involvement in the European Union and our influential role during the Presidency in embracing the concept of Turkey joining the European Union — this country's stated foreign policy is to support Turkish accession — we cannot stand aside and witness the effective rape of a country in the manner in which it is happening in the occupied part of the island of Cyprus.

Whenever issues like this are raised in the House, I always get the feeling there are people outside it who think along the lines of Neville Chamberlain who, when Czechoslovakia was about to be handed over to the Nazis, asked why Britain should concern itself with a country of which it knew little. That comment was about a country in Europe. I would hate to think there was not an awareness within Government circles here of the real and deep concern of the Republic of Cyprus Government about what is happening on its island and the consequences of permitting this unauthorised sequence of events.

As a result of the growing affluence in western Europe, people are looking for places to build houses. Advertisements are now appearing in Irish and British newspapers encouraging people to buy land and build houses in the occupied part of the island of Cyprus. That is being done on the basis of the movements in international diplomacy. The attitude appears to be, "It will be alright on the night", and "Possession is nine-tenths of the law." However, that does not take account of the unfortunate people who own the land. They were driven off it in 1974 and have not been allowed back since.

We have an obsessive attitude to land because of the historic events that resonate down through the past 400 years, the Irish experience of land being appropriated, the importance of land in the Irish psyche and because we were denied ownership of it for so long — people would nearly go to war over a plot of ground. Be that as it may, because of our unique position on the periphery of Europe and the historic parallels between what happened here and what is happening in Cyprus, there is a moral responsibility on this Government to ensure that the European Union puts as much pressure as possible on the Turkish authorities to desist from this action.

I understand there is no consensus in Europe on this issue in that Ireland can and does act unilaterally in its bilateral relations with Turkey on this and a number of other issues. I want to ask a specific question, and I know I am supporting the official Republic of Cyprus line in this regard. In a recent letter to me, the Cypriot Ambassador to Ireland, Andreas Kakouris, stated:

The Republic of Cyprus fully expects that Turkey, a country that aspires to EU membership and to opening negotiations this Autumn, put an immediate end to its systematic usurpation and unlawful exploitation of Greek Cypriot properties found in the occupied area.

If Turkey wants to be part of the European family, subscribe to the concepts of the European Convention on Human Rights — to which Ireland is a signatory and to which, as a member of the Council of Europe, it has strong adherence — and acknowledge the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, it must desist and see the folly of its ways. However, I have regrettably come to the conclusion — Senator Norris and I discussed this on a previous occasion in respect of Iraq — that there is little morality left in international relations.