Thomas Gould
Question:6. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of the process of securing a special envoy for freedom of expression. [47113/21]
View answerThursday, 30 September 2021
Questions (6)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
I was looking for an update on the status of the process of securing a special envoy for freedom of expression.
I am glad to answer this question. I have asked my Department to undertake a review of the role and appointment of special envoys, given the public commentary and debate on this issue in recent weeks. It is anticipated that the review will be completed by mid-October because I have asked that it be a priority. The recommendations of that review will inform policy regarding any future special envoy appointments by Government. No consideration will be given to appointing any special envoys in any policy area until that review is complete and until I have had the opportunity to consider its recommendations.
I need to re-establish the credibility of appointing special envoys. We have two effective special envoys working for us, but what has happened in recent weeks has undermined public confidence and confidence in this House between parties in the appointment of and potential roles of special envoys. I need to fix that and we will do that with this work. The Taoiseach has been clear, and I agree with him, that as part of that work we will ensure any future special envoy appointments will involve a competitive and transparent process for how people are invited to apply for those roles. I will happily come back to the Deputy when I have the recommendations from that work. We will take it forward then with credibility.
While there is no specific number of LGBTQIA community members in this State, the Oireachtas research team estimates that there could be up to 500,000 people in the community in the State. Many of them were probably heartened to hear that the position of a special envoy for their freedom of expression was a priority for the Government and were disappointed when it fell through. Last night we were talking about Afghanistan and about the impact of the Taliban taking over, especially on women and girls but also on the LGBTQIA community. Many of those people have gone into hiding and are fearing for their lives. The position of a special envoy, not alone in Ireland or Afghanistan but globally, is one that is worth filling.
I also believe it is worthwhile, which is why I was looking to create the position and appoint somebody suitable to it. Many other countries are doing this and they have been doing so for quite some time. We were simply looking at what other countries were doing, trying to get value for money and trying to put skilled people into positions where they could advocate internationally from an Irish perspective. That is what special envoys do. They are not normal employees of the Department per se because they are normally asked to do a specific job in a specific timeframe for the Government to raise the profile of a certain area. Most European and western countries use this tool and regularly appoint special envoys, including our neighbours to the east and west. US President Biden has appointed a special envoy specifically for the promotion of LGBTQ rights this year. That is what we wanted to do but it clearly did not work out too well. People know why that was and so a review is under way to fix that issue. It is hoped we will be able to use the important tool of special envoys in the future and with more credibility.
An awful lot of people would be qualified to carry out the role of special envoy and would be interested in doing so. Sometimes we need to look outside the box of the usual suspects. A special envoy in this specific case for the LGBTQIA community is such an important role and it sends out such an important signal of how the Government considers that community and how it wants to support members of that community. We know there is a huge amount of discrimination against that community in Ireland and across the globe, and for them to know there is a voice there and someone advocating for them is worthwhile.
Ireland has been a template for many of other countries to follow in how attitudes towards minority groups here have changed, particularly the LGBTQ+ community and the way in which we had a public conversation and citizen's assembly on the issue. We passed a referendum to change the status of same-sex marriage and so on. These are things a lot of other countries have taken a lead from. Ireland campaigns internationally in this space and it wants to protect minorities that are vulnerable and blatantly discriminated against, sometimes violently, in certain countries. We want to be and we are a voice for those minorities in other parts of the world where we need to ensure international law applies and discrimination is called out. That is why a special envoy in this space may have been helpful. Even in the absence of that, we have good ambassadors and strong Ministers in this space, as well as many NGOs.