Mary Lou McDonald
Question:172. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in the context of the ongoing crisis if a representative was sent to Moscow for St. Patrick's Day. [13503/14]
View answerTuesday, 25 March 2014
Questions (172)
Written answers
The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Alex White T.D., represented the Government at the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Moscow from 14-18 March. Minister White participated in the very successful St Patrick’s Day Parade held at Sokolniki Park in central Moscow on 15 March. It is estimated that the parade was attended by 15,000 people. Later that evening, he was a guest at the Irish Business Club’s charity Emerald Ball which was very well attended by business figures, community representatives, cultural, media and other important contacts. As well as providing an opportunity to reach out to the Irish diaspora based in Moscow and further afield in Russia, the Minister’s visit also had a strong business focus, involving attendance at the St Patrick’s Day Embassy reception on 17 March, meetings with Irish business community representatives, two food promotion events, and a meeting with the Local Market Team comprised of the Embassy and the State agencies present in the market. He also visited a Tourism Ireland outdoor photographic exhibition in central Moscow. Approximately 20,000 Russians visited Ireland last year and it is encouraging to know that this figure is set to grow even further.
The ongoing crisis in Ukraine was discussed with the Minister in his meetings with Irish community and business representatives who expressed their concern about the deteriorating situation and the very serious implications for the EU-Russian relationship, politically and economically. In his discussions, Minister White articulated Ireland’s strong views on the crisis and our call for inclusive dialogue to begin as a matter of urgency to find a peaceful settlement.
During the visit, Minister White met the Deputy Minister responsible for Primary Healthcare and also with the Deputy Director of for the Russian Drugs Control Agency to discuss matters directly related to their respective portfolios.
The Minister had a very useful and extensive meeting on 17 March with representatives of Amnesty International, the International Crisis Group and the Russian LGBT Sport Federation on issues of most concern to them. As is widely recognised, civil society organisations are under intense pressure within the Russian Federation owing to increasingly restrictive legislation including the so-called NGO Foreign Agents Law about which the EU has expressed its grave concern on many occasions.
For my part, I have spoken out about this issue and have also raised my serious concerns over Russia’s LGBTI-related legislation directly with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Minister White conveyed Ireland’s strong support for the work of these organisations and underlined our interest in staying in close contact with them. I understand from talking with Minister White since he returned that the civil society representatives were highly appreciative of the support and solidarity which Ireland continues to show for them and their vitally important work within Russia.