Official Engagements

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2015

Tuesday, 8 December 2015

Questions (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)

Joe Higgins

Question:

7. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visits to the United States of America, and his meetings with officials there. [32853/15]

Gerry Adams

Question:

8. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to the United States of America in September 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33923/15]

Gerry Adams

Question:

9. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the former President of the United States of America, Mr. Bill Clinton; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33927/15]

Gerry Adams

Question:

10. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to Quinnipiac University in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33928/15]

Gerry Adams

Question:

11. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to the United Nations General Assembly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33924/15]

Gerry Adams

Question:

12. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his individual meetings with international leaders during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33926/15]

Micheál Martin

Question:

13. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the position regarding his address to the United Nations in September 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33971/15]

Micheál Martin

Question:

14. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the bilaterals he had while he attended the United Nations in September 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33973/15]

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

15. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will provide a report on his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40155/15]

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

16. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he had discussions regarding human rights abuses in Palestine while attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40156/15]

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

17. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach the leaders he met while attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40157/15]

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

18. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to the United States of America and the meetings he participated in while there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42434/15]

Oral answers (5 contributions)

The Taoiseach

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 18, inclusive, together.

I made a short visit to the United States on 24 and 25 September. The main focus of the visit was my participation in the United Nations summit on sustainable development. Prior to this, on my arrival in New York on Thursday, 24 September, I travelled with my delegation to Connecticut for a number of engagements, including a visit to Quinnipiac University, on foot of a long-standing invitation from the university's president, Dr. John Lahey.

My visit to Quinnipiac began at the Great Hunger Museum, which has one of the world's largest collections of visual art, artefacts and printed materials relating to the Irish Famine. It also plays a crucial role in promoting public understanding of the Famine through a number of important educational outreach programmes to schools in the state of Connecticut and beyond. I recommend to all Irish people who happen to be in the vicinity of Quinnipiac to visit that outstanding exhibition which portrays different aspects of the Great Hunger in this country in a powerful way. I was honoured to be awarded an honorary degree from the university, which I accepted in honour of all those who lost their lives in the Great Hunger, and those who sought refuge from it in the USA and elsewhere.

I then addressed an invited audience comprising university leaders and benefactors, members of the Irish-American community as well as representatives of business, community, cultural and sporting groups. I was pleased to meet members of the region's vibrant Irish-American community after the ceremony.

Before leaving Connecticut, I visited the corporate headquarters of United Technologies Corporation, UTC, and met the company's senior leadership, including the chief executive, Mr. Gregory Hayes. UTC is an IDA Ireland client company that provides high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building systems industry and which has recently made significant investments in its Irish operations in Shannon and Cork. During my visit, the company announced an expansion of its Irish operations, with an additional investment of €6 million and the creation of a further 20 high-skilled jobs at Shannon.

Later that evening, I met former US President, Mr. Bill Clinton. We had a wide-ranging discussion, including on the Irish economic recovery, a number of international and development issues and the Northern Ireland peace process.

The following morning, I participated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. This was one of the largest gatherings of Heads of State and Government in the history of the United Nations and included an opening address by His Holiness, Pope Francis. The summit formally adopted the post-2015 development agenda, agreed by consensus by the 193 member states of the United Nations, entitled Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This new agenda sets out 17 sustainable development goals and 169 targets aimed at tackling key systemic barriers to sustainable development, such as inequality, unsustainable consumption and production patterns, inadequate infrastructure and lack of decent jobs. The environmental dimension of sustainable development is covered in the goals on climate change, oceans and marine resources, and ecosystems and biodiversity.

I pay tribute to Ireland's ambassador, H.E. Mr. David Donoghue, and his team at the Irish permanent mission to the United Nations in New York because it was he who co-facilitated the negotiation of this agreement together with the ambassador of Kenya to the United Nations. One should be under no illusions about the scale of the work H.E. Mr. Donoghue put into that document, which was accepted unanimously by 193 member states of the United Nations. The selection of this country as one of the two co-facilitator member states was an important and appropriate recognition of our country's proud record, both within the United Nations processes and as a strong supporter of the development agenda.

In my address to the summit I indicated Ireland's strong commitment to this agreement which should galvanise action to end extreme poverty, hunger and under-nutrition as well as expediting progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. I also took the opportunity to reiterate that Ireland's development aid programme will remain central to our foreign policy and that we will continue to work with our partners towards the elimination of extreme hunger and malnutrition by 2030. This was not a suitable opportunity to raise specific issues such as Palestine.

As I indicated in the House on 6 October, in the margins of the summit I held a bilateral meeting with President al-Sisi of Egypt. I was accompanied by Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with responsibility for development, trade promotion and North-South co-operation, Deputy Sean Sherlock, and officials. During this meeting, I raised the case of Ibrahim Halawa, the young Irish citizen on trial in Egypt. I made very clear the Government's desire that Ibrahim should be able to return home to Ireland.

I said it would be in the interests of both our countries for us to resolve the position in a positive way. I also stressed to President el-Sisi the considerable public interest in Ireland regarding Mr. Halawa's case, as well as the concerns which have been expressed in the Oireachtas. President el-Sisi and I also discussed regional issues including development co-operation and the aid programmes that Ireland undertakes in sub-Saharan Africa in the context of the refugee crisis. The discussions I had over the course of this visit did not touch upon the situation in Palestine.

Following my attendance at the summit, I officially opened Irish TV's new office on Park Avenue in New York, further expanding the international reach of the company. I also met briefly with representatives of Irish groups in New York, including a group of young Irish entrepreneurs and digital executives who were honoured that week as top-40 digital leaders, and representatives of the GAA community. Representatives of the Irish Government agencies in Ireland House, namely, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland, were also present.

Before leaving New York, I met briefly with Professor Klaus Schwab, the executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. We discussed the organisation's work, as well as Ireland's ongoing engagement with the forum, which continues to provide an exceptional opportunity to interact with key investors and business representatives. Overall, it was a successful visit, with much ground covered in a very short time. I am pleased that it afforded such useful opportunities at bilateral level and a platform from which to articulate Ireland's firm commitment to the sustainable development goals.

Deputy Gerry Adams

I agree with the Taoiseach about An Gorta Mór museum at Quinnipiac. I commend the work of Mr. John Lahey, the president of the university. As the Taoiseach outlined, the university has compiled a unique collection of art, research and resource materials on the Gorta Mór and the subsequent period. It tells the story of Ireland in many ways, and the work is significant and invaluable. I was very impressed, as I am sure the Taoiseach was, by the sculpture and other artwork from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries by foremost artists such as Daniel McDonald, John Behan, Robert Ballagh, Paul Henry, Margaret Allen and many others. I echo his appeal for anybody who is in the vicinity to visit it.

I am also pleased that the Taoiseach found the time to meet President Clinton, who retains a very deep and insightful interest in affairs in this part of the world, across the island but not least in the North. Recently, the 20th anniversary of his first visit to the North was celebrated. The Taoiseach will remember the event, during which he travelled from Belfast to Derry and Dublin. I try to keep in good contact with him, given that he is a true friend of Ireland on many issues about which we are concerned.

The major issue for many Irish Americans, which the Taoiseach did not mention, is the plight of the undocumented. It is estimated that 500,000 people left Ireland during the past eight years, going not only to the US but also to Australia, Canada, Britain, Europe and Asia. There are tens of thousands of people in the US due to the austerity policies. While some travelled legally, it is estimated that there are 50,000 illegal or undocumented Irish. They did not go for the craic, as a lifestyle choice or for the experience. While they might get all that when they are there, it was not the reason they went. They went because they had no long-term employment prospects, meaningful work or proper terms and conditions here. Many of them have families in the US, pay tax and contribute positively to US society. However, when it comes to a bereavement, christening or wedding, they cannot return home. While they contribute significantly to the US economy and are generally recognised as model citizens, they are the Skype generation.

President Obama's executive order last November presents an opportunity for some of them to come out of the shadows and regularise and legalise their presence. It also opens up frustrations given that, for some of them, the ability to acquire a social security card, work legally and get a drivers' licence conflicts with their ability to return to Ireland. If they return, they might not get back to the US. They are caught idir eatarthu, between two worlds. A man from Mayo whom the Taoiseach knows well, Ciarán Staunton, is known to many in the Oireachtas for his hard work on behalf of the undocumented. Mr. Staunton is arguing that the introduction of a waiver policy that would remove the obstacle of the three-year and ten-year bar for undocumented Irish citizens in the US would be an important step forward. A similar waiver scheme is operated by the US mission in Mexico. I recently spoke to Mr. Staunton in New York, and he was in the Oireachtas a few days ago. He is lobbying in this regard, and he believes a waiver scheme, if introduced, would benefit 25% of undocumented Irish citizens. If the United States Embassy in Dublin waived the three-year and ten-year bars, people could go through sponsorship or investment and re-enter the US legally with a regularised status. Has the Taoiseach discussed the proposal with the US Government? Has anybody from the Government discussed it with the US ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Kevin O'Malley, here in Dublin?

I am pleased that the Taoiseach raised the case of Ibrahim Halawa with President al-Sisi. I have been very disappointed with and critical of the Government's refusal to be active on the issue. This young Irish citizen has been held without trial and was on hunger strike for some weeks. He should not be in prison. While it is good that the Taoiseach raised it with the President of Egypt, it is not good enough that our Government is not exhausting all the opportunities open to it.

The Government must have taken a decision not to officially recognise the status of the state of Palestine. This is contrary to the Oireachtas all-party and non-party agreement on the issue. There is no other explanation. If the Government wanted to recognise the state of Palestine, it would do so. The Government recognises the State of Israel, which is fair enough, but to recognise one without recognising both shows a considerable bias. Such tilting against the underdog drives the warmongers in the region. If we cannot uphold international law and the international status of the people of Palestine, who will?

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for his comments on Quinnipiac, a fine, young, growing university. President Clinton continues to express a very knowledgeable and far-seeing view on Ireland and Northern Ireland and the issues that evolve there. He has never lost his passion for and interest in the issues surrounding Northern Ireland, for which I always commend him.

The issue of the undocumented takes up much time. It appears as though the agencies that issue the J1 visas will discontinue it for people who do not have employment in place before they go to the US. It will be very difficult to deal with, as the Deputy knows. The consequences will be twofold.

First, it will certainly lessen the number of J1 visas issued to Irish students. This important link between Ireland and America has led to the development of new acquaintances, opportunities and businesses over many years. We want to keep that link very much established. Second, if some of those who travel to the United States on holidays or on vacation decide to look for jobs, they will create real problems for themselves for years to come if they are found to be working illegally and without documentation. Ambassador O'Malley has been very strong in trying to ensure nobody who wants to go to America next year is denied such an opportunity. The Irish ambassador to the US, Ms Anne Anderson, has been working very hard on Capitol Hill, but the agencies that authorise J1 visas are completely independent. That is an issue.

I have spoken to Ciarán Staunton on many occasions in respect of various opportunities that might exist for different kinds of visas or waiver schemes that could involve taking up the slack of other countries. To be honest with Deputy Adams, I cannot see much happening in this regard in light of the state of political play in Washington at the moment. We have all heard of the opportunities that exist to tag sections onto legislation going through the Senate or the House of Representatives. Given the tensions that exist between both houses at the moment, I cannot see that this will move on. I might just say in passing that some of the comments I have heard recently about closing down America, in effect, are not the America that we know. I suggest, in the context of globalisation and the movement of people throughout the planet, that openness, diplomacy, understanding and education are the sorts of wars that should be fought in the future so that people have opportunities to work with one another and share their common humanity.

I spoke to President al-Sisi in New York. I had a good meeting with him. He was very frank and open about the difficulties that exist in Egypt and in his response to my comments about the number of visits our consul general has made to the prison and our considerable interest in the ongoing situation of young Ibrahim Halawa. As I have pointed out previously, of course it is not for me or for this country to say we want to throw aside the judicial system that exists in Egypt. President al-Sisi was very clear in his remarks about the authority that is vested in him to use presidential pardons and when they might be used. I might add that the Egyptian ambassador here recently sent me a letter about this case. I will forward copies of it to Deputies Adams and Martin for their information. I met President al-Sisi briefly in Paris last week in the context of all the leaders who were there. I had a brief conversation with him about the Halawa case. I mentioned to him that the Egyptian ambassador here had sent a further piece of correspondence.

I think we should return to the question of Palestine and Israel again. Obviously, it is a matter that is still under consideration here.

Deputy Micheál Martin

Regarding the Taoiseach's visit to the United States, I accept fully that the issue of the undocumented is not one that can now be resolved by the Government here alone. As a former Minister for Foreign Affairs, I have been involved in this issue. It seems to me that the situation is deteriorating, given the political environment in the United States and the hardening of attitudes towards inward migration into that country. I put it to the Taoiseach that we need to return to the bilateral track and seek to ensure that bilateral agreements with the United States are reached. This is very difficult in itself. I know other groups do not want us to do that. The Latinos, in particular, are watching to see if any separate bilateral deals are done. I managed to initiate and conclude a working holiday agreement with the then Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Negroponte, who is a Republican. The agreement was more restrictive than the Japanese one in so far as it required graduates to look for work specific to their degrees in the United States. Nonetheless, it was a bilateral agreement of sorts that dealt with a limited cohort of graduates - those who had graduated from college in the previous year.

I am concerned about the J1 visa, which has been identified by the Taoiseach as critical. One issue in terms of Ireland's global perspective arises here. In previous generations, emigration created a critical mass of Irish Americans. The great influence of these people has helped significantly to shape opinion in America towards Ireland and issues on this island from an economic, social and political perspective. There is a need to maintain that engagement with the United States through bilateral formats. It would be useful if the Departments of the Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs and Trade were to develop a strategic team that would take a long-term approach to working out how to develop bilateral arrangements and engagements with the United States. The reality we now face is that it will be difficult to achieve any fundamental change in the immigration policy of Congress. I have been listening to this for a decade. People attack Governments on this issue in the full knowledge that it is kind of shallow to do so. The real change has to happen on the other side of the Atlantic. There is no sign of such a change in US politics, which is going in the opposite direction. To be fair, President Obama made an executive order. I think we need to clarify or outline what the practical impact of that will be for many of the undocumented Irish.

I am delighted that the Taoiseach visited the United Technologies Corporation. I was involved in some of the first meetings with representatives of that corporation when I served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I initiated relationships with them and helped to further their engagement with Ireland. That has borne fruit. For a long time, this country's longer-term industrialisation policy has been based on low corporate taxes, long-term investment in education and good availability of skills as key ingredients to attract inward investment. I am glad that the Taoiseach is continuing that approach.

I am pleased that the Taoiseach has met President al-Sisi. We need to take a strong stance on what is happening to Ibrahim Halawa because it is not acceptable. He has been held without trial for far too long. If I may say so, behaviour of this kind by Governments in the Middle East and elsewhere exacerbates the alienation that is felt by people and unfortunately leads to their radicalisation. I think we need more intelligent responses to situations like this. It is a basic issue of justice for an Irish citizen. As I have said, what is going on is unacceptable. I do not know whether the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has had any meetings with his Egyptian counterpart. Has he visited Cairo? The Taoiseach might indicate whether the Government has considered the possibility of a ministerial visit that would endeavour to put pressure to secure Ibrahim Halawa's release.

I commend the Permanent Representative to the United Nations, David Donoghue, on his outstanding work on the sustainable development goals. Ireland has a proud tradition as a distinguished contributor at the United Nations. I refer, for example, to the involvement of Frank Aiken in the emergence of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. More recently, Dermot Ahern and I worked on the convention on the banning of cluster munitions, which was agreed in Croke Park a number of years ago. While I was involved in the later stages of the work on the convention, it was Dermot Ahern who did much of the running on it. We worked with approximately five other countries. This shows the work that small countries can do at UN level. Mr. Donoghue, who has been working on the sustainable development goals, is a very committed diplomat who holds substantial viewpoints and has a hard work ethic. I am pleased for him and for Ireland. Along with his team at the UN and at Iveagh House, he worked with the ambassador of Kenya to lead the way for agreement on the sustainable development goals to be reached.

I ask the Taoiseach to set out what the realistic prospects are for Ireland to achieve its development aid contribution target.

For a long time, 0.7% of GDP has been a globally accepted target. That can be fine when economic growth is not going well. Paradoxically, it can be easier to get to a 0.7% target with low growth but when economic growth is very high one allocates a lot of resources very quickly, which there might not be adequate capacity to absorb. There needs to be some reflective thinking on this to bring about a more sustainable, long-term contribution that rides the cyclical nature of our economy better than has been the case over the past decade. In the first ten years of this century huge moneys went out in aid but huge growth rates meant we still did not make the 0.7% target. We ended up pumping lots of money into UN funds which were good for emergencies but when recession or retraction came this changed. We are a cyclical open economy and that is going to happen so there needs to be a more even-steven approach, which is very project focused and also focused on the key issues of education and governance in other countries. Does the Taoiseach have any thoughts on that?

The approach of the United Nations to global warming is unequivocal. I support the need to protect agriculture and food development because food security is essential but one gets the impression that, over the past five or six years, Ireland has been pulling back and we do not get the whole idea of climate change and how serious it is for the future. One only has to witness the recent storms, which are happening with far more regularity and frequency than 20 or 30 years ago. This is a global phenomenon but one that is impacting on Ireland. I am disappointed we have not had a radical plan on transport to reduce our emissions or new technologies and innovations that could save energy and reduce CO2 emissions so that we can make our targets. Our approach is not ambitious but seems, instead, to be to excuse ourselves from ambitious targets in transport, technology and innovations. There is a lot more potential to engage, particularly in research and development as a third pillar of Science Foundation Ireland, which we initiated in our last term in Government. To what degree has that kind of thing materialised or been developed?

The Taoiseach

I agree that we have to look at all the opportunities the Deputy mentioned and at the bilateral situation but I get the feeling from talking to people in Congress and the Senate that it is not going to happen. I hope we could make some sort of an arrangement but it is not going to be easy. I spoke to the new speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, who was here earlier this summer or last summer with his family and is very clued into Ireland's position. I wish him the very best in his job as Speaker. Deputy Martin is right that, over the years, the cohort of Irish travelling to America built up a unique connection in many fields all over the States and now that the digital world is moving so rapidly that is even stronger than before. It seems as if the decision being made here resulted from different nationalities congregating in different places across the States. The potential impact of losing J1 visas is not to be underestimated. We do not know at this stage what the requirement for paperwork will be from the far side and what the requirements will be for a young man or woman applying for a J1 visa in order to comply with the conditions of employment which are set by these agencies in Boston, Chicago or wherever, the traditional haunts of the Irish looking for summer work. It would be a terrible shame if young people were denied the opportunity because they go on holidays and find themselves working for a day only to be declared undocumented and deported, giving them difficulties for years afterwards. David Donoghue did a wonderful job.

On Paris, we have signed on for collective reductions with our European colleagues for 2030 but no targets have been allocated yet for any individual country. We are not looking for any escape routes or exemptions or to be treated as a special case but our profile is different from every other country except New Zealand and Uruguay and we want full value for our agricultural land and forestry. We unanimously agreed this at the October meeting of the European Council, as the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, will be well aware. The Commission seems to have changed the assessment of what that actually means. This makes it more difficult for Ireland to make progress in that regard. We will achieve whatever target is set for us from 2020 to 2030 but no targets have been allocated yet so we are not resiling from anything. If we can produce X amount of food for a growing population and can produce X plus Y in the future while conforming to the current carbon footprint standards, we should not allow inferior food with higher carbon emissions to be produced in other places by knocking down rainforests. We want to and will play our part. Ireland, as part of Europe, will achieve the 40% reduction by 2030 and will achieve whatever target is eventually set for us between 2020 and 2030.

We approved the White Paper today. The energy Bill is going through and it works in four areas, namely, building, energy, transport and the agrisector. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, is working hard to see that charging points for electric cars are set up all over the country. Deputy Martin's party has a particular view on how that may be incentivised for some cars and such ideas are to be commended. The legislation and the White Paper on energy set out very ambitious targets for Ireland. The debate is moving way beyond the narrow confines of one particular sector and there will be public consultation and discussion. The Bill will allow for people to be very ambitious in the four sectors I mentioned, which are building, energy, transport and the agrisector.

Written Answers follow Adjournment.