asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the exploitation of children in Colombia by their working in coal-mining industries and if he will bring every possible pressure to bear by all agencies open to him to ensure that such abuse of young children ceases.

The Government are aware of recent reports which allege exploitation of young children in Colombia.

These distressing reports have aroused our greatest concern, particularly in view of the high hopes for the protection of children against such abuses which were raised as a result of the International Year of the Child in 1979. These reports are particularly appalling because we are aware that such abuses are not isolated phenomena. Indeed, as the Deputy will be aware, an Amnesty International report on children published last year highlighted the fact that many children in several parts of the world are victims of the persistent violation of their human rights.

The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of formal diplomatic relations between Ireland and Colombia it is difficult for the Government to make representations directly to the Colombian authorities. However, I can assure the Deputy that representatives of the Irish Government will continue to participate actively in the various efforts in international fora, and particularly in the United Nations General Assembly, to transform the international concern about breaches of human rights into effective action towards preventing such breaches. The promotion of respect for human rights remains an active concern of the Government's and the protection of human rights in the case of children as set out in the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child is clearly of the utmost importance.

Although we have not got diplomatic relations with Colombia, am I right in thinking that Colombia has figured in our bilateral aid programmes—that there have been programmes of which Colombia has been a beneficiary?

That is right.

In that context would it not be possible to bring to bear on the Colombian Government the kind of pressure Deputy Keating's question has been aimed at?

We will bring all the pressure we can to bear on them, and much more effectively than did Deputy Keating, who asked the question.