I raise first the situation faced by the people of Cuba, an island that has been under an illegal blockade for many decades. It is a blockade that the world, through the United Nations, has condemned year on year. Despite the blockade and siege by the world's superpower - its nearest neighbour - Cuba has shown the way regionally in terms of health outcomes for its people. That progress on health is under attack, however. We are seeing a slow war of attrition against healthcare, nutrition and civilians by the United States through the ongoing blockade and the escalation of same. Ireland and the European Union need to make a humanitarian intervention in this regard. They also need to make a political intervention to get a resolution on this, both through the United Nations and bilaterally with the United States. I raise the issue of a young 22-year-old man from County Waterford, Rory Byrne. He was arrested and detained in Croatia over the weekend. I have written to the Minister for foreign affairs, Deputy McEntee, about this but I wish to raise it in the Chamber with the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond. I will share the details when I finish speaking. He was arrested following a fracas at a festival with a number of other young men. He has type-1 diabetes and is very unwell. Consular officials were told by prison authorities that he has refused consular assistance, but his family contests that. He has not been able to access medical help, consular assistance or legal advice. Obviously, there is a language barrier there as well. I ask the Department, the Minister of State and his colleague, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to urgently intervene to ensure that Rory's rights are upheld and that he can access medical intervention, particularly a transfer to a hospital facility given that he has been without insulin for a number of days. Later this month, as part of Ireland's Presidency of the European Union, the AGRIFISH Council meeting will take place in Cork. This gives the Irish Government an opportunity to set the agenda and push for the long-overdue reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. It also allows Ireland to set the stage for the negotiations that will take place later this year on fish quotas and avoid the shameful outcome of the AGRIFISH Council's meeting in December last year when Ireland, the Irish fishing industry and coastal communities were subjected to a calculated ambush by some of our European partners and fellow member states. We now have a situation where Belgium, with a coastline of some 70 km, enjoys more fishing quota than this entire State for a number of species that are found off our southern shores, in Irish waters. I ask the Minister of State to relay those points to his colleagues in Government so that they will be actioned in the AGRISIFH meeting in Cork this month.

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