Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 May 2013
27. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide further details of his recent four day trade mission to Turkey; his visit to Syrian refugee camps in Turkey; and if he discussed with the Turkish Government their dialogue with the PKK and attempts at creating a peace process. [23225/13]
View answer58. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if, in view of the his recent visit to Turkey, he believes that the PKK’s historic ceasefire will have a positive impact on the political and security environment of that country, and create conditions for meaningful dialogue between the two sides. [23238/13]
View answer65. Deputy Derek Keating asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of his recent trade mission to Turkey; his views in relation to Turkey's application for membership of the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23104/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 58, and 65 together.
First, I wish to take this opportunity to express my horror at the explosion of two bombs in Reyhanli, a town in Turkey close to the Syrian border, on Saturday 11 May, in which at least 46 people have died. On behalf of the Irish Government I have sent a message to the Turkish government via our embassy in Ankara expressing our condolences to the families of the innocent civilians killed and our sympathies to the injured. We express our solidarity with the people and government of Turkey, who have generously extended protection to hundreds of thousands of refugees from the crisis in Syria.
I visited Turkey from 7 to 10 April 2013. This visit had a number of aspects, including a bilateral trade mission, political discussions on our bilateral relations with Turkey and Turkey’s EU accession process, given Ireland’s role as current Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the European Union. I led the trade mission of 24 Enterprise Ireland companies, held discussions with Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ahmet Davotolu and Minister for EU Affairs, Mr. Egemen Bagi. I also met President Gül, the Minister for the Economy, the Minister for Science and Technology and the Minister for Energy. In addition, I visited Syrian refugee camps hosted by the Turkish Government in Gaziantep in south eastern Turkey.
Dealing first with the trade mission, contracts of over €30 million for Enterprise Ireland client companies were announced. Enterprise Ireland’s market strategy in Turkey is focused in particular on energy and environmental services, pharmaceuticals, ICT, financial services, education and engineering sectors. Companies from all these sectors were represented on the mission. I also undertook a range of meetings with prominent business people and business organisations in Ankara and Istanbul, including TIM (the Turkish Exporters Assembly) which signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Irish Exporters Association. Trade between Turkey and Ireland has grown by 20% over the past three years and exports by EI client companies to Turkey grew by 9% in 2012. In all it was a very productive visit and laid the groundwork for even greater trade engagement between Ireland and Turkey in the future.
I discussed Turkey’s EU accession process with Ministers Davotolu and Bai and with President Gül. Ireland has long been supportive of Turkish EU membership and one of our priorities is to reinvigorate the accession process during our Presidency. Work is progressing in this area and we hope to be in a position to open a negotiating Chapter (Chapter 22 – Regional policy and co-ordination of structural instruments) in June. Appreciation was expressed by my interlocutors for the Irish Presidency’s efforts in this regard but so too was some frustration at the slow pace of Turkey’s accession progress. I urged that implementation by Turkey of the Ankara Protocol would create new momentum for the accession process and provide the opportunity to unblock a number of areas currently stalled.
Foreign Minister Davotolu also briefed me on the Kurdish issue and talks with the PKK. The government is optimistic, but cautious. The announcement on 21 March that PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has called a ceasefire is most welcome and represents an opportunity to build on the ongoing talks towards a durable and democratic settlement. These are very welcome developments and I took the opportunity to wish the Government well in its efforts.
On 8 April I visited refugee camps for Syrians at Nizet near Gaziantep. Turkey was the first neighbour of Syria to formally respond to the influx of Syrian refugees. It maintains an open border policy for those fleeing the conflict and it has been praised for the level of humanitarian assistance it has provided. I commended my interlocutors for the efforts of the Turkish people and on the occasion of my visit announced a further Irish contribution of €1 million in humanitarian assistance for Syrians, specifically targeted for Turkey. This comprises €500,000 to the International Federation of the Red Cross and €500,000 to the UNHCR and it brings Irish assistance for the humanitarian crisis in Syria to €8,150,000 to date.
