Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 January 2018
5. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the planned trade missions for 2018 and 2019; if it is policy not to raise human rights issues on specific trade missions; if restrictions are put in place by the host country regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3649/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn November, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, stated in the Dáil that Ireland has a reputation for being consistent and vocal on humanitarian issues. However, the facts do not support his declaration. According to Amnesty International, we are facilitating a racist system of abuse and exploitation of refugees and migrants by the Libyan coast guard, detention authorities and smugglers in order to prevent people from crossing the Mediterranean.
There also appears to be a record of failing to raise important humanitarian crises when the Irish have something to sell. There are some dreadful things being perpetrated by our allies and trade partners but we look the other way. When will we live up to the reputation we claim to have?
To try to answer the question the Deputy tabled, proposals for trade missions are developed by Enterprise Ireland in consultation with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation on the basis of priority markets and specific interests of Enterprise Ireland client companies. Proposals for 2018 are currently being finalised and, once approved, the schedule of planned trade missions and events for 2018 will be made public. The schedule for 2019 will be considered in the second half of this year. Several events have already taken place in 2018, including a Ministerial trade and investment mission to the USA in January.
Trade missions in 2018 and 2019 will seek to enable Enterprise Ireland client companies to expand their footprint and take advantage of global growth opportunities, particularly in the context of the international economic challenges facing Ireland, including the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
The Deputy will get the rest of the formal reply from the Official Report. In response to his question, of course Ireland has a responsibility to raise human rights concerns. There was a long conversation at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Libya in the last few days, of which I was part. The Deputy cannot expect Irish companies to be fully briefed on all human rights issues either. It is a responsibility of Government to ensure that our policies are consistent and that we work with the European Union to advocate for the advancement of human rights and to protect vulnerable communities. We do not always succeed in that. However, Ireland has been consistent in the EU and the UN in speaking out and backing up our statements with the financing of humanitarian assistance. There is a whole series of examples of that.
We need to work with our companies. We are working now in terms of a human rights dialogue with businesses in Ireland, to make businesses more aware of their own responsibilities in terms of how they source and who they source from, work with and so on. That will become more a part of international business in the future.
There are some very complicated situations. Taking Libya as an example, there are no simple solutions there. We are trying within the European Union to provide humanitarian assistance in the Mediterranean. We have picked more than 16,000 people out of the sea, many of them children. I will not stand for Libya being used as an example of Ireland not fulfilling its international obligations in respect of the genuine human rights concerns that exist.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
Trade missions will focus on the Eurozone and key markets with which the EU has or is currently negotiating free trade agreements. Ministerial-led trade missions and international events are essential to supporting Irish companies expand their global footprint and realise their full growth potential.
My Department works closely with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland and other State agencies, both at home and overseas, to support Enterprise Ireland led trade missions, and to ensure that firms based in Ireland are enabled to take advantage of new market opportunities. This approach is set out in the Government’s trade strategy, Ireland Connected: Trading and Investing in a Dynamic World, which was published in March of last year. The embassy network also plays an important role in supporting and deepening trade and investment relationships around the world, by raising Ireland’s visibility in markets, proactively addressing market access issues, hosting high-level events in support of Irish business, brokering introductions and offering guidance on local markets and business culture.
Ireland has always been at the forefront internationally in raising human rights issues through bilateral contacts and through the European Union and the United Nations. We have never shied away from addressing human rights issues. However, the primary focus of a trade mission is to encourage business-to-business links and encourage investment and employment opportunities. If we want to be effective in addressing human rights issues with countries, we must do it in an appropriate way and at the right opportunity, so that our concerns are taken seriously and acted upon.
The human rights unit of my Department is currently leading work on the implementation of Ireland’s national plan on business and human rights, which I launched on 15 November. The plan is a whole-of-Government initiative that has been developed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with the support and co-operation of a number of Government Departments and State agencies. The aim of the plan is to promote responsible business practices at home and overseas by all Irish business enterprises, in line with Ireland’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights globally. The plan is directed at Government and State agencies, Irish companies operating at home and overseas, and multinational enterprises operating in Ireland.
The plan mandates a number of actions to be carried out across Government, the implementation of which will be overseen by the implementation group of the national action plan on business and human rights, which will be established in the coming months.
I would be the first to admit that our boats have done some good work down there, although I disagree with the military aspect of Operation Sophia. Let us go back to the trade missions. I had a debate here with the previous Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, in 2014. He actually said that trade missions were not the time or place to raise human rights abuses. When the Minister and his colleagues sit down with Governments like those of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - I am not talking about the companies - do they raise human rights issues? There has been a fair bit of trade with the Saudis. For the life of me, I do not know how the Government is having problems dealing with the Russians when it can deal with the Saudis. I am in favour of talking to everybody. However, the Saudis are destroying Yemen. They are creating millions of refugees. There is starvation and cholera of unbelievable proportions. Is the Government raising these issues when it discusses trade with them? That is my question to the Tánaiste.
The straight answer to that is "Yes". When I visited the Middle East a couple of weeks ago, I was in Cairo on the first day of a four-day visit and we had a really good meeting. I met for nearly three hours with my counterpart, the Minister for Foreign Affairs there. We did raise human rights issues. However, we did so in the context of a discussion on a range of matters. From my experience, whether in the European Parliament or here, building personal relationships on the basis of mutual interest allows us to create the space to have honest conversations about human rights concerns as well. It must be on the basis of not lecturing people or being seen to do so. It is necessary to have a real conversation based on genuine human rights concerns.
When I served as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I took two very large trade missions to China. As a result of the relationships we built up, we started to have an honest understanding and a conversation around human rights concerns that we have. Chinese Ministers are happy to talk about that if it is a respectful conversation.
Trade missions are primarily about opening up trade opportunities. They are also an opportunity for Ministers to raise questions relating to human rights in an appropriate setting. By and large, I think I have used the opportunity to do that whenever it has presented.
I am glad to hear it. I do not doubt the Tánaiste's integrity. The mission statement of his Department's national plan on business and human rights, which was brought out in November, states that it aims to promote responsible business practices at home and overseas by all Irish business and enterprise, in line with Ireland's commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights globally. Does that fit in with the fact that we are still selling dual-use weapons to the Israelis? The Tánaiste sat down with Mr. Netanyahu a couple of weeks ago-----
We are not selling weapons to anybody.
When he sat down with Mr. Netanyahu, did the Tánaiste raise the fact that Israel has an apartheid regime at home and is engaged in genocide in Palestine?
I raised a whole load of issues with Prime Minister Netanyahu, including the responsibilities of Israel in the context of occupation. We spent a lot of time talking about what needs to happen in terms of assisting Palestinians in Gaza in particular, where there are significant socioeconomic and environmental pressures linked to the availability of water and power, overcrowding, housing, education, health care and many other issues. Some 1.3 million of the 1.9 million people living in a very small area now rely directly on food aid coming through UN organisations. Those kinds of pressures may potentially lead to a new round of violence and misery because of the increasing pressure on Palestinians living under those conditions. There is an understanding around that.
On numerous occasions, I have raised my view in regard to expanding settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the context of trying to work towards an agreed settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. I have raised these issues and we have had pretty robust conversations. Prime Minister Netanyahu is a blunt talker and does not agree with me on everything. That is no surprise to people. It is really important that we have such conversations in order that we can build up an understanding of the concerns-----
Is the embassy in Dublin being closed?
I certainly hope not and I also expect not. In fact, I asked him a direct question on that issue and I expect that we will not see the closure of the embassy. He said he did not intend to take the Israeli Embassy out of Dublin. To be fair, after that conversation, which was at the very end of our discussion, when I asked him to please not pull the embassy out of Dublin because we need to maintain the current relationship, he said he would not. Thereafter, his Finance Minister has had the embassy in Ireland on a list for consideration in respect of savings on embassies. Other than that, I hope and expect that the Israeli Embassy in Ireland will stay in Dublin.
