Andrew Doyle
Ceist:104 Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs about the situation in Nepal. [1866/09]
Other Questions.
Human Rights Issues.
The peace process in Nepal has continued to progress since the elections of April 2008 and the establishment of a federal democratic republic to replace the monarchy. I welcome the recent agreement reached by the political parties on arrangements for the drafting of a new constitution. Likewise, the recent efforts by the Nepalese Prime Minister to ensure the return of property seized during the civil war and to end the activities of paramilitary groups represent an important and welcome development.
However, long-term stability is far from being achieved in Nepal. Public discontent is mounting and the rule of law remains weak. Violent clashes have recently taken place between the Maoist Young Communist League and rival members of the Unified Marxist-Leninist, UML, youth force, which are both associated with government coalition parties.
Journalists critical of Maoist conduct have also been threatened with, and subjected to, violence from Maoist trade unionists. It remains imperative that all sides continue to respect pluralism and the rule of law, and work towards securing the political consensus needed to complete the peace process.
A central element of the peace process which remains incomplete is the integration of Maoist army personnel into the Nepalese army. I welcome the first meeting of the special committee tasked to oversee this which was held on 16 January. However, the reports of recruitment being undertaken by the Nepalese army, which is in contravention of the 2006 ceasefire agreement, are of concern. It is vital that all sides comply with agreed commitments on this issue and work towards a speedy resolution of it.
Ireland is accredited diplomatically to Nepal through our ambassador in New Delhi. Our embassy there monitors developments in Nepal closely and remains in regular contact with parties there, including the Nepalese Government. Ireland's ambassador-designate to Nepal will travel shortly to Kathmandu to present credentials and he will take this opportunity to engage in political consultations with the Government and other parties and interests and to convey our views and concerns while he is there. The EU is also actively engaged in Nepal and deployed an election observation mission to monitor the elections in April 2008, to which Ireland contributed. Likewise, the UN Mission in Nepal, UNMIN, plays a vital role in facilitating the peace process. Ireland remains fully supportive of its work.
In 2008, Irish Aid provided funding of over €1.1 million to civil society organisations for development activities in Nepal. Ireland also responded to the serious flooding in Nepal through a contribution of €89,000 to Plan Ireland for immediate relief to displaced families. In addition, €15,000 was provided towards the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in support of the Nepali peace process.
The initial paragraph of the Minister's response paints a picture of hope, but there is no political stability in Nepal. There is no power in Kathmandu for 16 hours a day, and no water. The population has just emerged from a two-week garbage strike and the country is in chaos, with problems of child trafficking, child slavery and refugees. Nepal is very low down on the scale and Sri Lanka is not too far from it in that regard. Unfortunately, we will not reach questions regarding the situation there. I ask the Minister to instruct the new ambassador designate to New Delhi to ask the Indian Government to use its influence on the area to try to bring some stability to Nepal.
While I fully accept the Deputy's points, some progress has been made politically. The constituent assembly has chosen a President and Prime Minister and formed a coalition Government. It now has to work on drawing up a permanent constitution for Nepal. We will work and communicate the Oireachtas's views to the Indian Government on the role it can play. We will also work directly with the authorities in Nepal to see if we can be of further assistance in helping build up civil society and proper governance structures there.
Does the Minister consider that it would be useful, through the ambassador in New Delhi, to follow on the €1.1 million we spent through the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights by seeking opportunities there for assisting with the human rights mechanisms such as the Human Rights Commission, writing a constitution and bringing into existence institutions of civil society? Our assisting in that would be an opportunity for some once-off relationships with the Nepalese Government.
Yes. The EU plays a very significant role in Nepal. The EU engagement centres around three focal areas, education, stability and peace building. It has allocated €60 million to funding projects that address these issues. We have had some criticism of the EU today but it is equally important to point to where it plays a positive role. The statistics about the humanitarian situation there are extremely grave. Its child malnutrition rates are among the worst in the world. Approximately 8 million Nepalese continue to live at or below the poverty line. There was an appalling rise in food prices last year, which compounded that. Approximately 2.7 million depend on food assistance. There are very serious and severe issues and through Irish Aid we will do what we can with the authorities in New Delhi and elsewhere to try to make our contribution to alleviating some of the horrific poverty people endure there on a daily basis.
EU Treaties.
Bernard Allen
Ceist:105 Deputy Bernard Allen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress made towards securing concessions from Ireland’s EU partners to take into account the contents of the report of the Sub-Committee on Ireland’s Future in the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1993/09]
Charles Flanagan
Ceist:109 Deputy Charles Flanagan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the discussions he has had with the Presidency of the EU since 1 January 2009 with respect to the possibility of a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty here. [1871/09]
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:138 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the schedule of events and proposals for the holding of the promised referendum on the Lisbon treaty; if he has identified a suitable date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1972/09]
Brian O'Shea
Ceist:150 Deputy Brian O’Shea asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding potential consultation with the Irish people on the issues contained within the Lisbon treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1943/09]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 105, 109, 138 and 150 together.
At its meeting of 11-12 December, and following intensive negotiations, the European Council agreed that the concerns of the Irish electorate regarding the treaty of Lisbon, as identified by the Taoiseach, will be addressed to the satisfaction of Ireland and of the other member states, including through the provision of legal guarantees in a number of key areas.
The report of the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in Europe provided a very valuable input in helping to inform the Government's position ahead of this meeting, and made a significant contribution in enabling us to secure such a positive outcome. Once again I thank the Members of this House, and of the Seanad, who served on the sub-committee for their excellent work, which will be of continuing value in our ongoing discussions on Lisbon treaty issues during the Czech Presidency.
The European Council agreed that if the Lisbon treaty enters into force, each member state will continue to have the right to nominate a Commissioner. It agreed that legal guarantees will be given to Ireland in the areas of taxation, defence and sensitive issues covered by our Constitution, namely the right to life, education and family. It also agreed that the high importance the EU attaches to issues including workers' rights and social services will be confirmed. In response the Government said that conditional on the satisfactory completion of the detailed follow-up work necessary on these commitments by mid-2009, and on presumption of their satisfactory implementation, it is committed to seeking ratification of the treaty by the end of the term of the current Commission, which is expected to leave office at the end of October.
The Government will be working domestically, with our EU partners and with the EU institutions to give full effect to the commitments contained in the European Council conclusions. This will involve intensive consultations in the months ahead. We will be looking to finalise the required legal guarantees before the end of the Czech Presidency, which will hold two meetings of the European Council in March and in June. We will not take any decision on the holding of a second referendum until the concerns of the Irish people have been addressed to our full satisfaction.
With a view to advancing this work, we have already had a number of meetings with the Czech Presidency. After yesterday's GAERC meeting I met my Czech counterpart, Mr. Karel Schwarzenberg, and Czech deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Alexandr Vondra, who also has responsibility for European affairs. Earlier this month, my colleague, the Minister of State with special responsibility for European Affairs, Deputy Roche, attended an informal General Affairs Council meeting in Prague, where he also had meetings with the Czech Presidency. At an official level, my Department is in regular contact with partners, including the Presidency.
The Government believes it will be possible to secure the robust legal guarantees we require to address what have been identified as the most significant areas of public concern regarding the Lisbon treaty. Once this has been achieved, we are committed to seeking ratification of the Lisbon treaty through a referendum later this year. We will do all in our power to ensure a clear, comprehensive and inclusive national debate on the ratification of the treaty and on Ireland's future in Europe. This is a matter of the highest national importance. I look forward to all individuals and parties in this House who are committed to upholding Ireland's position within the European Union playing a full and active role in this vital national debate whose outcome will shape our future in Europe.
I am very pleased to hear relations between the Irish Government and the Czech Presidency have improved since the visit of the Czech President to the country a few months ago. I welcome some of the steps taken regarding the key issues highlighted in the aftermath of the Lisbon referendum. For those of us on the ground these matters were highlighted during the campaign. These relate to concerns on social and moral issues, taxation, etc. It is important we seek and guarantee assurances at EU level on those.
I am disappointed at the lack of progress at a domestic level. I have said before and I repeat, there is a large amount of groundwork to do at a domestic level. A number of recommendations in the report of the Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union have not in any way been implemented. I thank the Minister for his kind words on the work of the sub-committee, but words are inadequate. We need to see some action on some of these proposals, such as those on the scrutiny reserve system, a new approach to the oversight of statutory instruments and the role of Oireachtas Members. Some of this will require domestic legislation and I have seen no evidence of any preparation of this. I would like to hear precisely what is happening at Government level to seek the changes we require at domestic level. We do not need the agreement of our European partners to take the necessary steps at a domestic level.
I am disappointed with the tone of the Deputy's remarks because the Oireachtas committee's report was published at the end of November.
Exactly.
We then led into the December Council, secured significant concessions from our EU partners, as per the Deputy's question, covering many issues raised including those pertaining to neutrality, defence and taxation, which were part of the Oireachtas committee's report. We have delivered on all those recommendations. We are working on the areas the Deputy mentioned and they will be part of the package. It is not about implementing something overnight in advance.
That is all we want to hear.
We will respond specifically to the idea of the formal scrutiny reserve mechanism to deal with the issue of secondary legislation and whether we agree with the establishment of an EU panel for the Seanad. The political parties, independent of the committee's work, have put forward other ideas that have to be taken on board and considered and we are committed to doing that.
Should we re-establish the committee? I will be in discussions with my opposite numbers, Deputy Costello in the Labour Party and others, to see if that is a mechanism for facilitating the final stages of this debate and engagement. Deputy Timmins is smiling; I do not know why. Or do we need more formal, direct engagement with the political parties through our spokespersons and the meetings we have already had?
Can we anticipate domestic legislation dealing with workers' rights and the social charter before its introduction into the general terms of what might be on offer to Ireland? Will workers' rights and the social charter be in domestic legislation before any referendum and will it be part of any referendum afterwards? If Ireland provides guarantees in domestic legislation it will then be in a position to look for Europe-wide guarantees to workers.
I do not recall the reference to guarantees that we sought in respect of education being central to the sub-committee's report. I did not think that the sub-committee required any guarantee on conservative education or certain forms of control in the Irish case. That came in, as it were, from the side. The same applies to the suggestion about forms of household and the conservative clauses in respect of the family. Where did they come from before becoming part of a great European guarantee? I do not recall these issues being raised significantly on doorsteps when I canvassed but I do recall workers' rights being raised.
The charter of fundamental rights represents a significant advance on workers' rights. Having the Lisbon treaty passed with the charter intact would also be a significant advance for them. If it does not pass it will be bad for workers. That principle must be articulated time and again because it is conveniently forgotten whenever we mention workers' rights. The Deputy is correct in suggesting that there is a domestic agenda, the legislation pertaining to compliance and the establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority, NERA, the agency legislation, how a new legal edifice can be created to recover the position following the Ryanair judgment and several other items on which the social partners, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and her Minister for State Deputy Billy Kelleher are working.
The European Council issued a statement to the effect that it attached high importance to workers' rights and social services. The Commission brought in the European employers and trade unions too and is working on the implications of the Laval, Viking and Rüffert judgments for the mobility of workers in the European Union. It is examining, for example, the directive on postal workers. It is not clear whether that will be completed in time but it is on the way.
It is very important.
The sub-committee's recommendations did not cover everything. There is a variety of submissions and we carried out our own research and analysis on the kind of issues that might arise. The only one pertaining to the Deputy's comment on the family is that it is a general view that Irish people should decide on issues such as abortion. It is a jurisdictional issue.
Will the Minister outline briefly the more obvious areas not covered by the sub-committee? Will he give us some idea of a date for the second referendum and if he cannot do that will he tell us when he might be in a position to give us that date?
There was a time when the Deputy told me he did not want one date. He is not as clued out as he thinks or suggests.
The Minister should not break confidence.
I assure the Deputy that I will consult with him on the date.
Did the Minister run that by the Cork hurlers?
I will hear him and Deputies representing other parties on a date because I am anxious to develop as strong a consensus here as possible on this issue.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.