asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the increasingly repressive nature of the Argentinian regime and if he has made any representations to the authorities there regarding the imprisonment, without the due judicial process being observed, of many Argentinians of Irish descent.

The Government deplore the violation of human rights wherever they occur. The concern of the Government of the member states of the European Community, including Ireland, has been expressed to the Argentine authorities on a number of occasions. The Government have noted with satisfaction the decision of the Argentine authorities to allow on-the-spot investigation of the human rights situation by the Inter American Human Rights Commission, an organ of the Organization of American States. The report of the group will be studied with interest when it becomes available.

The Deputy will appreciate that representations can be made to other Government on behalf of persons who are Irish citizens. Where persons are citizens of Ireland and another country, they are not, under our regulations, in a position to avail themselves of Irish consular protection in the country of their second citizenship. The ability of the Government to intercede on behalf of persons of Irish descent in Argentina is accordingly limited. I can assure the Deputy that our ambassador in Buenos Aires will continue to bring to the attention of the Argentine authorities, in the course of his regular contacts with them, the concern of the Government in regard to human rights violations in Argentina.

Do I take it from what the Minister has said that he has been active in this connection already?

Very much so and on behalf of the Nine in recent times.

I am reliably informed that there are Argentinians of Irish descent detained at present who have not been tried in the normal fashion.

Obviously when one talks in terms of human rights violations one cannot distinguish people of any descent and, therefore, we cannot make a special case on that basis particularly as they are not citizens of Ireland.

I accept that.

I assure the Deputy that across the whole range of our representations we are particularly concerned that the Argentinians will respond positively and that unlawful detentions of the kind the Deputy mentioned will not continue to be a characteristic of the regime in the Argentine.

The reference to Irish descent is because we have an ambassador in the state. I felt that this, quite apart from the question of human rights, is the central issue and that the lack of due process there gave our ambassador more significance than would normally be the case of a country of this kind.

I should like to remind the Deputy of what I said: that we note with satisfaction the decision of the Argentinian authorities to allow an on-the-spot inspection, which is something which is not possible to arrange in other countries.