asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of trade between Ireland and El Salvador for the last year for which figures are available; if any Irish-based companies trading with El Salvador are in receipt of State subsidies; and if the present trade arrangements are conducive to the establishment of basic human rights in El Salvador.
Written Answers. - El Salvador Human Rights.
415.
In 1978 the value of Ireland's exports to El Salvador amounted to £816,649 while our imports for that period were worth £60,748.
As the names of individual firms involved in the trade with all countries, including El Salvador, are treated as confidential by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, it is not possible to say whether any Irish based companies trading with El Salvador have received any of the aids which the State provides for industrial or export development.
There is no intergovernmental trading arrangement between Ireland and El Salvador and no State aids exist specifically for the purpose of promoting trade with that country.
416.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps the Government has taken to express official concern at the systematic violation of human rights in El Salvador, including the persecution of trade unions, peasant organisations and representatives of the Catholic Church.
The Government consistently deplore violations of human rights wherever they may occur. The reported widespread violation of human rights in El Salvador is a source of serious concern to the Government. However, in the absence of diplomatic relations between Ireland and El Salvador, it has not been possible to express this concern directly to the El Salvador authorities.
The Deputy will appreciate that the likely course of events in El Salvador following the recent change in the regime there is difficult to anticipate, but he may be assured that the Government will follow events there closely. We will, of course, continue to support action at international level against countries who consistently violate fundamental human rights.