Don Lydon (Fianna Fail)

This is a short but important Bill. The origin of the important concept of diplomatic immunity can probably be traced back thousands of years to a time when a king sent an emissary to another king informing him that if he did not stop fighting, he would trample over his territory. The second king then sent an emissary to the first king rejecting his demand. If one of the emissaries had been killed, the message would not have been received. For this reason, it was decided to stop shooting messengers.

The Cathaoirleach and several speakers have travelled abroad on official business. Members are given diplomatic immunity when they travel on certain missions, for example, on delegations from the Committees on European Affairs and Foreign Affairs. Diplomatic immunity is important when travelling to countries where there is trouble or strife. I have no difficulty with proposals to extend diplomatic immunity to other bodies which have international obligations. As this is technical legislation which proposes only to insert a new statement in the 1967 Act, it is not necessary to oppose it.

I am amazed to learn of the number of bodies which enjoy diplomatic immunity, in some cases for short periods. They include, for instance, a group representing cocoa producers. Another body should be added to the list, namely, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, commonly referred to as the Order of Malta. Under international law, the order is a juridical body in its own right which maintains full diplomatic relations with 48 nations. It also has representatives or high representatives to the European Union, UNESCO, the United Nations, France and one or two other countries. Ireland is not among the EU countries with which it has full diplomatic relations. I have often wondered why the State has not established relations with the order, which has full charitable status here, maintains a large body of people throughout the world who are committed to entering war zones and places of famine and hardship, and does tremendous work establishing hospitals and clinics, providing help and succour to people in need and so forth.

The Government should appoint high representatives to the Order of Malta and vice versa. I understand this was proposed when the late Brian Lenihan was Minister for Foreign Affairs but for some reason the proposal fell through. Perhaps the Minister of State would accept an up-to-date submission on this matter and discuss it with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and departmental officials. I am aware the Department is known as a responsible, cautious Ministry which is almost impenetrable to outsiders. Nevertheless, it does a remarkably good job. I commend the Bill to the House.