Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 55: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to meet the new Libyan authorities in relation to the relationship between the previous Libyan regime and the IRA in order to ascertain the full details of arms shipments and all other supports given by the previous regime to prescribed organisations and their associated organisations during the time of the Northern Troubles. [24699/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The Government is actively building bilateral relations with the new Libyan authorities. I attended a high-level meeting on Libya in New York on 20 September, on the margins of the sixty-sixth session of the UN General Assembly. This meeting demonstrated the strong international support for the transition now underway in Libya and marked also the formal acceptance into the United Nations of the new Libya and its interim government, the National Transitional Council (NTC).

At the high-level meeting, I warmly welcomed, on behalf of the Government and the Irish people, the fact that the NTC has now assumed power and will govern Libya as an interim administration during the period leading up to fair and free elections. I also offered the Libyan people all possible cooperation in the period ahead, building on the political support and humanitarian assistance, amounting to some €1.3 million, which we have extended since last February. The interim authorities have identified many immediate challenges, including the provision of humanitarian assistance to those in need, removing unexploded ordinance, opening schools and repairing critical infrastructure such as electricity and water networks. Capacity building in public administration and re-establishing the rule of law will also be critical.

I have already had discussions with representatives of the NTC, including a meeting with the interim Prime Minister of Libya, Mahmoud Jibril, on the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council last April and an earlier meeting in Dublin with the NTC's representative to the UK and Ireland. I look forward to further high-level contacts with the new Libyan authorities at the earliest opportunity.

The Government believes that there is significant scope for strengthening bilateral cooperation between Ireland and Libya in many areas. Many Libyans have travelled to Ireland for educational or work reasons and have made it their home. There are also economic opportunities, not least the possibility of Irish companies assisting Libya in its re-construction.

In relation to the bilateral issue raised by the Deputy, the Government remains in ongoing contact with the British Government and other relevant stakeholders in the context of efforts to address the legacy of the Troubles, in keeping with the principles of Good Friday Agreement. This specific issue is one element of this legacy and is best addressed as part of a comprehensive approach to dealing with the legacy of the Troubles.