Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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390. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will send election observers to monitor the presidential elections to be held in Sri Lanka in January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44876/14]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of observers for election monitoring missions, which play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. We aim to ensure that Ireland is represented at an appropriate level in international observation missions for both elections and constitutional referendums. Irish observers participate primarily in missions following requests issued by the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Consultations are continuing within the European Union on the priorities for election observation missions in 2015. If agreement is reached on a mission for Sri Lanka, we will give careful consideration to the nomination of Irish observers.