Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 184: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding his visit to Cuba; and if he met the families of the Miami five. [7837/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I visited Cuba from the 17-19 February on what was the first working visit by an Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs. Cuba is undergoing a period of change, and its relations with the EU have entered a new phase. I availed of this new context to discuss a wide range of political, economic and social issues, including human rights. I held a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Cuba, Mr. Felipe Pérez Roque. Our discussions included an examination of ways and means to develop bilateral relations between Ireland and Cuba, as well as EU-Cuba relations.

During my visit to Cuba, I also met with the Cuban Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Co-operation to discuss possible sectors for economic cooperation. In this connection, I visited the world-renowned Genetic Engineering and Biotech Institute. I reported on the visit to my EU colleagues at Monday's meeting of the External Affairs Council and urged that the Union continue its policy of engagement. I hope and expect that Irish and EU relations with Cuba will be further developed following my visit.

As I indicated to the Deputy on 29 January, the Government has no standing in the matter of the so-called Miami Five, which is a bilateral consular question between the US and the Cuban authorities, and I did not meet with the families of the Miami Five during my visit to Cuba. However, I did have an exchange on such matters with Minister Pérez Roque, during which he stressed to me the importance which the Cuban government attaches to the release of the so-called Miami Five.