Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will convey the Senator's acknowledgement of that to the Tánaiste. As he will be aware, the protection and promotion of human rights is at the heart of Ireland's foreign policy. That is why we raise human rights with all of our partners. We believe strongly in addressing these issues in a transparent, open, and frank manner. This was the Tánaiste's approach during his meeting last week with China's foreign minister. At that meeting, the Tánaiste also re-emphasised Ireland's long-held view that all human rights issues of concern should be comprehensively discussed and examined at the UN Human Rights Council, and within the wider UN human rights architecture.Mr. Lai's case and other ongoing prosecutions of media workers and others in Hong Kong remain a concern. I add that maybe we should not take media freedom for granted in this country either. We will continue with our EU and like-minded partners to seek every appropriate opportunity to highlight these cases in multilateral forums and raise recurring concerns directly with the authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing.