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Enda Kenny and Richard Bruton at the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce this week. Photocall Ireland/GIS

Gilmore insists: 'Ireland always raises human rights issues'

Micheál Martin has said “of course” the Taoiseach should have raised human rights issues with leaders in the Gulf this week.

TÁNAISTE EAMON GILMORE has insisted that Ireland “always raises human rights issues” amid criticism of the Taoiseach Enda Kenny for not pressing the matter while on a trade mission to three Gulf countries this week.

Kenny and Jobs Minister Richard Bruton have been on an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE this week, but human rights issues have been largely off the agenda in meetings with senior politicians there.

“Ireland always raises human rights issues,” Gilmore said at the RDS in Dublin today. “There are a number of ways in which we do that, one of the ways in which we do that is through the [UN] Human Rights Council, which we are a member, and [it] has a procedure where it reviews the human rights record of every country on a regular basis,”

Gilmore said that the record of Saudi Arabia – where women are not allowed to drive – was reviewed last October and that Ireland made “specific recommendations” to the country at the time “in respect of the rights of women in particular”.

Asked if the Taoiseach should have raised these issues in meetings particularly with Saudi’s deputy prime minister Crown Prince Salman, Gilmore responded: “The Taoiseach was on a trade mission.

“There are ways in which the human rights issues are raised by Ireland. We do that consistently, we do that regularly and there are few countries that have a strong a record as Ireland in pursuing human rights issues in different parts of the world.”

Criticism

Earlier, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said that he was surprised that Kenny had not raised the issues.

“Of course he should have and I mean it’s expected in encounters like that or in meetings like that you would raise issues pertaining to human rights,” he said.

Martin identified issues in relation to the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia and hit out the Taoiseach congratulating Saudi for its election to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

“You don’t congratulate people on a situation that clearly is not compatible with our own,” he said.

The former Foreign Affairs minister said Ireland “consistently raise[s] these issues with, not just Saudi Arabia, but other countries where we believe human rights are being breached”.

He added: “I think he should have at least raised it in the meetings.”

Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy, who has already written to the Taoiseach over the issue, criticised Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, who is also on the trade mission, for his comments in a Newstalk interview this morning.

“Minister Bruton cited the building of the World Cup stadiums as an example of ‘progress and growth’. Workers building the World Cup stadiums in Qatar are facing shocking conditions,” Murphy said.

The Gulf trade mission concluded today with the Department of Jobs announced in a statement that it had ensured an initial 95 jobs for Ireland and 21 contracts and business deals worth a record €65 million.

Around 100 executives from 87 Irish companies were also on the trade mission.

Read: The human rights issues which aren’t being discussed on Taoiseach’s Gulf visit

Read: Gulf states trade trip ‘not time or place’ to bring up human rights concerns

Read: Government won’t say if Taoiseach has or will raise human rights concerns with Gulf states

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29 Comments
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    Mute Alan Kelly
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    Nov 30th 2022, 7:17 AM

    A bit of competition is good once it’s honest and there’s no jolleys, stroking, brown envelopes or trips to the red light district

    248
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    Mute Peter
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    Nov 30th 2022, 7:33 AM

    Don’t care who builds it, once the ultimate cost is what was agreed at the start and it represents best value for money and can actually do everything that we need in an MRV.

    177
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    Mute Tom Collins
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    Nov 30th 2022, 2:58 PM

    @Peter: absolutely correct. The bigger ptoblen is managing to crew these ships given the pathetic funding of the navy and the army

    26
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    Mute Spud Geshletter
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    Nov 30th 2022, 7:46 AM

    . dont care who builds it but no the UK, when your out, your out.

    125
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    Mute Tipper Irie
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    Nov 30th 2022, 8:10 AM

    @Spud Geshletter: let’s hope they don’t have the same stupid attitude as you, we will be broke overnight.

    159
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    Mute Kevin O'Hara
    Favourite Kevin O'Hara
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    Nov 30th 2022, 10:10 AM

    @Tipper Irie: How do you like a freezing cold and dark winter? 75% of our gas comes from Scotland!

    54
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    Mute michael walsh
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    Nov 30th 2022, 10:38 AM

    @Tipper Irie: please explain??

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    Mute Pat Barry
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    Nov 30th 2022, 8:04 PM

    @Spud Geshletter: …but they’re Scots not English.

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    Mute bazhealy
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    Nov 30th 2022, 7:32 AM

    This is gona be an interesting one. The Brits will probably bend over backwards for these kind of contracts now to prove Brexit works. Might mean a better price, but there will be a lot of pressure on the government from EU partners to not go with the Brits for this. Especially a defence contract. I’m sure there are plenty of other shipyards around Europe that could also build the ship. I wonder will the EU intervene to make sure that EU defense spending stays as much as possible within the EU. Which will be tough seen as the Brits have such a massive arms industry.

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    Mute Roger Bond
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    Nov 30th 2022, 1:18 PM

    @bazhealy: We should source the ships with the EU Single Market and as Northern Ireland is still in the EU Single Market we should source the ships in Harland and Wolf in Belfast.

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    Mute Pat Barry
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    Nov 30th 2022, 8:02 PM

    @Roger Bond: You’d be lucky to get a barge out of H&W.

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    Mute Billybutcher
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    Nov 30th 2022, 10:35 PM

    @Roger Bond: hm no…

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    Mute Pat Barry
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    Nov 30th 2022, 11:18 PM

    @Billybutcher: hm maybe, although it has been used recently mainly for service I read on 25/11 that H&W has been appointed as the prefered bidder to deliver three crucial support ships to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

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    Mute Richard Griffin
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    Nov 30th 2022, 8:04 AM

    Who will staff it?? The Naval service is on it’s knees.

    85
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    Mute Roger Bond
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    Nov 30th 2022, 1:12 PM

    @Richard Griffin: We can recruit naval personnel from other countries like the Philippines or China.

    14
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    Mute Pat Barry
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    Nov 30th 2022, 9:01 PM

    @Roger Bond: Do people actually think we can do that?

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    Mute Richard Mccarthy
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    Nov 30th 2022, 9:06 AM

    And its also past time Ireland grew up and provided its own proper air defences and stop running to the RAF everytime an incident accurs because we dont have the capability,without a comprehensive radar tracking system anyone can invade our airspace at will and we have to depend on the Brits for information whats happening in our own country,the excuse usually given is because we are neutral sounds demeaning and ridiculous because we can even defend our own neutrality.

    117
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    Mute OConnelj
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    Nov 30th 2022, 10:00 AM

    @Richard Mccarthy: I’m sure that there is a bit of back scratching going on with that arrangement.

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    Mute Ken Miles
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    Nov 30th 2022, 8:13 AM

    Didn’t know the UK had any shipyards left.

    17
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    Mute Mustafa Leek
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    Nov 30th 2022, 9:16 AM

    @Ken Miles: they,’ve got s few ,who do you think built the new aircraft carriers?

    45
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    Mute Richard Mccarthy
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    Nov 30th 2022, 9:57 AM

    @Ken Miles: You obvously are misinformed who do you think built the latest Ships for the Irish navy,yep the Brits did only problem now we can’t get the personel to crew them.

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    Mute Kevin Carroll
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    Nov 30th 2022, 10:17 AM

    @Ken Miles: there is a famous ship yard only up the road in Belfast

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    Mute Tony Harris
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    Nov 30th 2022, 10:44 AM

    @Kevin Carroll: Excellent point. At least we would keep the money on the island.

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    Mute Ken Miles
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    Nov 30th 2022, 1:11 PM

    @Kevin Carroll: Yes there is. Tyneside shipyards closed to keep Belfast in work.

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    Mute Roger Bond
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    Nov 30th 2022, 1:11 PM

    @Ken Miles: There is one just up the road in Belfast and it would be a kind gesture to get the ships built there like before.

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    Mute Anthony Ross
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    Nov 30th 2022, 9:19 PM

    As a member of the EU all contracts should be given to eu countries not a country outside eu

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    Mute l
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    Nov 30th 2022, 8:17 AM

    They’ve probably wat he’d the childrens hospital and locked their lips at the clown show.
    Candy off a baby..

    17
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    Mute Pat Barry
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    Nov 30th 2022, 9:59 PM

    That’s easy then, Trieste in Italy it is, the only EU one of the top 10 largest shipbuilding companies, coming in @ #9.

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    Mute Roger Bond
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    Nov 30th 2022, 1:09 PM

    We should be looking further afield for contracts like this..The best value for money can be found in China or South Korea..

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    Mute Pat Barry
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    Nov 30th 2022, 8:36 PM

    @Roger Bond: Correctamundo, Asia all the way, I’d include Japan on that list.

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