As the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament 2023 continues in Dublin, members of Ireland's parliamentary community have been using the opportunity to discuss matters of mutual interest with representatives of the participating nations.
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
On 27 September, on the eve of the opening plenary of the conference, Mr. Tiny Kox, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, met the Ceann Comhairle and Cathaoirleach. The meeting was also attended by the Clerk of the Dáil, Mr. Peter Finnegan.
The Ceann Comhairle and Cathaoirleach meet Mr. Tiny Kox, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Ukraine delegation
Before contributing to a debate on the first theme of the conference, the consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the role of national parliaments in Ukraine's reconstruction, Mr. Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, was welcomed with his delegation to Leinster House to meet the Cathaoirleach and Leas-Cathaoirleach, as well as delegations from the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs.
Later that day Mr. Stefanchuk met the Ceann Comhairle and informed him that the President of Ukraine, Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed a decree to award the Ceann Comhairle with the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, II degree.
The Chairman of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada visits Leinster House
NATO Parliamentary Assembly
On the fringes of the plenary the Cathaoirleach took the opportunity to partake in a bilateral meeting with Ms Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam, the President of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly.
Cathaoirleach meets with NATO parliamentary assembly delegation
Parliamentary delegations from Azerbaijan, Israel, Georgia, Türkiye, Armenia and Jordan
The conference also afforded the chance for dialogue with representatives from Azerbaijan, Israel, Georgia, Türkiye and Armenia. On the eve of the conference the Ceann Comhairle took the opportunity to meet members from the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation, when he held a discussion with Ms Sahiba Gafarova, Chairwoman of the National Assembly, Azerbaijan.
On the first day of the conference the Ceann Comhairle met Mr. Amir Ohana, Chairman of the Israeli Knesset and Mr. Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament. The Cathaoirleach, meanwhile, met Dr. Numan Kurtulmus, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, Türkiye. A final bilateral on the fringes of the first day of the conference occurred when the Ceann Comhairle met Mr. Alen Simonyan, President of Armenian National Assembly. Before the conclusion of the conference, the Ceann Comhairle also participated in a bilateral meeting with Dr. Ahmad Khalaileh, Vice-Speaker of the Parliament, Jordan.
Bilateral meetings with representatives of Jordan, Israel, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Georgia