asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the purpose of his proposed visit to the USSR.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - USSR Visit.
7.
The Minister's visit to the Soviet Union, which takes place from 14th to 20th December, 1976, is in response to an invitation extended to him by the Soviet Foreign Minister Mr. Andrei Gromyko. The general purpose of the visit is to develop further, on a basis of mutual benefit, the existing relations between the two countries.
The Minister envisages that he will have an opportunity in the course of his visit for an exchange of views with the Soviet Foreign Minister on a range of current international issues such as implementation of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, problems of arms control and disarmament and other similar questions of international concern.
He also hopes to have talks with the Soviet Foreign Minister and his colleagues on such bilateral matters as the development of trade between Ireland and the USSR in a balanced way and to avail of the occasion of the visit to sign an agreement on the development of economic, industrial, scientific and technological co-operation which was recently negotiated between Ireland and the Soviet Union.
Arising out of the Parliamentary Secretary's reply, I agree that the Minister will have ample scope to do something about the trade between the two countries. Might I ask the Parliamentary Secretary will the Minister raise such matters as the poaching in Irish waters by Russian trawlers, and the reason why the Soviet authorities in Dublin have now three separate establishments for the diplomatic service in three different suburbs when no other country, I say offhand, has more than two in the city? The Russians are building a huge complex at Rathgar. Will the Minister ask the Russian government why they need such a huge complex of buildings in this city of ours? Will the Minister be allowed to march through Georgia from which they have banned him at the moment?
These are all separate questions, but the short answer to the first two is no. The Minister's view would be that the Russians in Soviet fishing boats have been made quite well aware by the action of our naval service and of the courts of our attitude towards the protection of territorial waters.
In regard to the establishments to which the Deputy has referred, the Minister is satisfied that these establishments qualify with what was agreed and that what was agreed corresponded with the Minister's views on what was reasonable. The Deputy will not ask me in the context of a question about the Minister's visit to Russia to defend that in detail I hope.
A further question. Will the Minister inquire before he goes to ascertain if the Soviet authorities are in breach of the Vienna Convention on the purchase of lands in any country for diplomatic buildings? There is a convention which covers what a foreign embassy may do in any one country as regards buying land.
This is a separate question, but my understanding of the Minister's intentions in this regard is that he has no complaints about Soviet behaviour with their establishments here, and consequently I see no reason why he should raise it.
Mr. Kitt
Could I ask the Parliamentary Secretary if I heard him right in saying that the Minister will not be lodging a protest with the Russian authorities during the course of his visit in regard to the poaching which they have indulged in off our coast, one case of which has been brought to court? There is ample local information from fishermen that they have continued this practice.
These seem to be specific questions worthy of a separate question.
The Deputy will realise that there have been in recent years several hundred infringements of territorial waters by foreign trawlers. The Deputy will not expect a formal diplomatic protest to be lodged in each case. The authorities of the countries concerned are made aware the hard way what our view is when these ships are arrested and their skippers subsequently fined and their gear confiscated. A protest over and above that would not achieve anything like the same effect.