The Secretary for Foreign and EU Affairs, Roger Albinyana, and the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT) Secretary General, Albert Royo, appeared today before the Irish National Parliament (Oireachtas) to discuss the issue of the Catalan political process. The initiative took place in Dublin’s Leinster House and was introduced by Dominic Hannigan, member of Ireland’s Labour Party and Chairperson of the Parliament’s European Union Affairs Committee.

 

The session consisted of two initial interventions by the Catalan guests who explained the current political situation in Catalonia and the recent events that have led to the present setting. The floor was subsequently open for questions by the attending members of the Dáil Éireann (Lower House of Parliament).

 

During his intervention, Secretary Roger Albinyana spoke of the current state of affairs and placed special attention to the plebiscitary nature of the elections on September 27. The Secretary stressed that this nature would provide Catalans with a definitive referendum, such as the one celebrated with absolute normalcy in Scotland, but one which the Spanish government has yet to accepted. On his behalf, Albert Royo made reference to several key events in the past years and underlined the entirely democratic, peaceful and integrating nature of the Catalan sovereignty movement. After each intervention, the attending Teachtaí Dála (members of parliament) went on to focus their interventions and questions on the plebiscitary nature of the September 27 elections, on the possible membership of an independent Catalan State to the European Union (EU) and on the monetary and financial matters concerning this new State.

 

Prior to this afternoon’s session, Albinyana and Royo, met with representatives of various political parties in the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), all of whom expressed an interest in the political situation Catalonia currently finds itself in and conveyed their inclination to follow Catalonia’s developments in the coming months. Additionally, the session was also attended by the Government of Catalonia’s delegate to the United Kingdom and Ireland, Josep Suàrez Iborra.