Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

This is an opportune moment to consider the plight of all those held hostage in Colombia, including Ms Ingrid Betancourt. In unanimously adopting its motion on 20 December 2007, the Seanad has already expressed its outrage at the detention of Ms Betancourt. The Government and Irish people share these sentiments. We were appalled by the written and photographic evidence recovered last year by the Government of Colombia that portrayed the inhuman conditions in which Ms Betancourt is being held. We are extremely concerned by further evidence in recent weeks of her failing health and the appalling conditions of her detention.

We all recall that Ms Ingrid Betancourt is a former Colombian presidential candidate and activist for human rights and environmental issues. During the Colombian presidential election campaign in February 2002, she and several colleagues visited the demilitarised zone in Colombia in order to hold talks with the FARC guerrillas. Ms Betancourt was taken hostage by FARC and she has remained in detention for the six intervening years.

However, Ms Betancourt and the other hostages are not forgotten in their plight. As what has been termed the "white march" in Paris last weekend showed, they have the support of all of us in their fight to secure their freedom. In 2004, my colleague, the former Minister of State, Deputy Noel Treacy, met Ms Betancourt's husband and offered the support of the Irish Government and people for his wife and other hostages in Colombia.

Ireland, together with our EU partners, welcomes recent initiatives to secure the release of the hostages and bring an end to the internal armed conflict. I very much regret that the recent joint humanitarian mission to Colombia to treat Ms Betancourt and other hostages was not allowed access to them.

However, efforts do not stop there. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is due to travel to Colombia soon to discuss the situation after the joint French, Spanish and Swiss humanitarian mission was denied access by the FARC. We fully support these initiatives. I would also hope that all those with influence on the FARC will use it to positive ends.

At EU level, the General Affairs and External Relations Council of the European Union most recently adopted Conclusions on Colombia on 19 November 2007. Ireland was actively involved in the negotiation of these conclusions, which expressed the EU's total solidarity with the Colombian people, its full support for the Colombian Government in its search for a negotiated solution to the internal armed conflict and underlined the importance the EU attaches to the ongoing implementation of the Justice and Peace Law.

The Council further expressed its hope that progress would be made in taking forward negotiations in order to reach a humanitarian agreement, to secure the release of all hostages, to end the armed conflict and to bring lasting peace to Colombia. In the same spirit, the Council welcomed all initiatives taken with the Colombian Government's support with the objective of promoting a successful peace process.

The Government of Colombia has repeatedly stated its commitment to bringing to an end all terrorism in Colombia within the framework of the Justice and Peace Law. This law, passed in 2005, provides an overall legal framework for the demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration of illegal armed groups into Colombian society. The Justice and Peace Law, which was adopted through a lengthy democratic political process, strikes a difficult balance between peace and justice.

The process of peace negotiations between the Colombian Government and the right-wing paramilitary group, AUC, began in 2003 with between 30,000 and 40,000 combatants having been demobilised on completion of the process in 2007. The Government of Colombia is currently engaging in dialogue with the left-wing guerrilla group known as the ELN in pursuit of a negotiated peace agreement. However, negotiations between the major left-wing guerrilla group, the FARC, and the Government have not yet commenced.

The EU has expressed its support for the Colombian Government's policies aimed at ensuring the rule of law, legality, security of persons and human rights. The EU has also condemned systematic breaches of the most fundamental human rights, including the right to life and to liberty, perpetrated by all terrorist groups in Colombia.

The Government will continue to monitor the situation in Colombia through our Embassy in Mexico City, which is accredited to Colombia, as well as in co-operation with our EU partners with resident diplomatic missions in that country. Ireland is fully supportive of efforts to bring a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Colombia, including the release of Ms Ingrid Betancourt and all the hostages held by illegal armed groups in Colombia. Ireland will continue to work with its EU partners towards a solution and will continue to support the Government of Colombia in its search for a negotiated solution to the internal armed conflict, including through direct engagement.