andMr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the anticipated length of time of the Madrid Conference on the Helsinki Final Act, the number of Irish staff who will be sent to the conference and if the Irish ambassador to Spain will lead the Irish delegation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Helsinki Final Act Conference.
50.
It is not possible to estimate the length of the conference accurately but three to five months seems likely. The Irish delegation will be adequately staffed but the details have not yet been decided. The main conference, which begins in November, will be preceded by a preparatory meeting which opens on 9 September. This meeting will decide the number of working groups for the main conference. The probable number will be three, corresponding to the main chapters of the Final Act, plus one other. The staffing of the delegation will be decided in the light of the results of the preparatory meeting and a total of four or five, including the head of delegation, seems likely.
51.
andMr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the preparatory work being undertaken by his Department for the Madrid Conference which will review the operations of the Helsinki Final Act.
As the Deputies will be aware, the Madrid follow-up meeting to the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe is scheduled to open in November of this year with a preparatory meeting beginning in September.
Preparatory work for the Madrid meeting has been under way in my Department for some time. In reply to a similar question in May 1979, the approach being followed in the preparatory work was outlined. Since that time work has intensified as the date of the Madrid meeting approaches.
A major part of our preparatory work is being carried out jointly with our partners in the European Community. During Ireland's EEC Presidency we devoted a good deal of attention to furthering Community preparations for Madrid. A considerable amount of the groundwork has now been accomplished in Community preparations. The monitoring of the implementation of the Final Act by all the participating states is of course a continuous exercise and in that sense the preparatory work is obviously open-ended.
Apart from joint work with our Community partners, preparations for Madrid include an assessment of our own situation with regard to implementation of the Final Act and also extensive contacts with countries outside the Community. These contacts take the form of bilateral exchanges of views at all levels and joint meetings at official level between the Community member states and other CSCE signatory states.
52.
andMr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has received any representations from Irish citizens concerning alleged breaches of the Helsinki Final Act by any of the other signatories and, if so, the action he has taken in relation to these alleged breaches.
In the period since the signature of the Helsinki Final Act in August 1975, representations have been received from a number of Irish citizens—individually and as group members—concerning alleged breaches of the Final Act by other signatory states. The Government's concern for the implementation of the Final Act has led us to take careful note of such representations. On many public occasions since the adoption of the Final Act, the Government's position on the need for full and balanced implementation of the terms of the Act has been very clearly stated. We have also used other suitable channels to make known our concern in specific instances. I hope the Deputies will understand that it would not be appropriate for me to go into detail on the representations which have been made in individual cases. I can assure them, however, that in such cases we have sought to use the most effective channels in conveying our concern.
Have the representations which have been made by Irish citizens in relation to alleged breaches been established to the Department's satisfaction? Have they a strong basis in fact? If so, in what way does he anticipate this will affect the participation and the position of Ireland at the Madrid Conference?
Our difficulty here is that the countries concerned are Eastern European countries and Soviet Russia. It is very difficult to get a clear picture which will substantiate the allegations made. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that, having regard to the form of Governments existing in those countries.
In view of that fact, could the Minister indicate what co-operation there has been within the Nine arising from the representations we made to the Irish State? Have other member states received similar representations?
Yes, we find the best way to deal with this type of matter is on an ad hoc basis. My predecessor had one or two successes in this respect. One can do it on a verbal basis by making the appropriate representations at diplomatic level rather than making formal representations which, more often than not, tend to be taken in a defensive manner. If one makes ad hoc verbal representations they can be successful, and have been in one or two cases.
Is it the view of the Government that the Madrid Conference will be in any way more constructive or conclusive than the Belgrade one?
The whole purpose of having the Madrid Conference was that it would be more constructive and would lead to more constructive conclusions.
Unfortunately, the present climate of political affairs in the world does not provide any great optimism that that will be achieved. At least we must keep trying because detente and its development are very important and fundamental to the survival of the human race.