Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 5 Jun 1996

Vol. 466 No. 4

Written Answers. - Trips to Libya and Egypt.

Brian Cowen

Ceist:

66 Mr. Cowen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of visits undertaken by him or members of the Diplomatic Corps to either Libya or Egypt in each of the past five years; the purpose of these visits; whether issues of mutual concern were discussed with a view to improving trade relations with these countries, in particular the beef trade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11372/96]

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

There have been no ministerial visits to Libya in the last five years. There has been a total of eleven visits to Libya by Irish diplomatic officers since 1991; four in 1991, two in 1992, two in 1993, two in 1994, none in 1995 and one in 1996. In nine of these cases the main purpose of the visit was to discuss the importation by Libya of Irish cattle and beef. The purpose of one visit was to discuss trade and technical co-operation between Ireland and Libya, including beef and cattle imports. The purpose of the remaining visit was to attend the inauguration of a infrastructure project. In the course of the last visit, meetings took place with relevant officials on beef and cattle imports.

It is customary to discuss matters of mutual concern, including trade concerns, in the course of such visits.

There have been three ministerial visits to Egypt in the last five years. I visited Cairo in June 1995 for discussions on the Middle East peace process and other issues of mutual concern. The Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs Deputy Gay Mitchell, took part in a Ministerial Troika visit to Cairo concerning the Middle East peace process in May this year and availed of the opportunity to raise the beef issue in bilateral discussions. In August 1994, the then Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Tom Kitt, visited Cairo to discuss the Middle East peace process and other issues.

Two senior officials of my Department have taken part in Troika visits to Cairo in 1996 to discuss EU-related matters. The Irish Embassy in Cairo is staffed by two diplomatic officers, including the Ambassador, who devote a considerable amount of their time to promoting trade relations between the two countries, in particular the export of Irish beef and cattle to Cairo.