Rónán Mullen (Independent)

I welcome the Tánaiste to the House. He should come here more often. Senator Walsh mentioned the plight of persecuted Christians. International evidence indicates that Christians are among the most persecuted minorities in the world, be it in Orissa in India, Sri Lanka, North Korea, China and so on. What specific steps does the Tánaiste propose to take in this regard? If successful in terms of our election to the Human Rights Council, will he prioritise raising the issue with Ms Catherine Ashton?

On closure of our embassy to the Holy See, the Tánaiste will agree that there is a difference between having two missions collocated in one venue, which may be a runner, and having one mission to serve two different states, which I understand is not a runner. The Tánaiste referred to ambassador Mr. Patrick Hennessy. He might be able to advise the Tánaiste on whether his unfortunate Secretary General has a snowballs chance of engaging in the type of networking in which an ambassador on the ground could engage.

Senator McAleese asked this morning whether the decision to close our embassy to the Holy See was a political decision or if the Government had been advised to close it. I would welcome a response from the Tánaiste to that question.