Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the witnesses on a very good report and what seem like very practical recommendations, of which there are 12. It is the first time I have heard them. Deputy Crowe would have been here when the witnesses made a previous presentation. As they are so practical, why has there been a delay in implementing them? If one goes through each of the points, one sees that there is a logic behind each one. In some ways, there is a value-for-money element outlined in the case made by the witnesses without putting a cost on them. Is Asia Matters experiencing bureaucratic or political delay or is it just that sometimes on an international field, things move slowly?

I know of some students who have benefitted from educational exchanges. I have met them here and abroad. I know there is concern among some people who travel to Ireland given the bad reputation of foreign language schools. In some ways, some of the countries are loath to make any new arrangements or agreements with universities until we sort out our own issues around the standardisation of such schools and some type of protection and insurance policy to protect those who are then left high and dry. It is then that the type of counsellor service recommended by the witnesses is called on to deliver and sometimes send students who have paid a fortune to get here back home again. That is one of the other questions I have. One of the best recommendations not just in terms of the area the witnesses are concerned with but other areas as well is the experience people have when they come to Ireland. If somebody has a good experience, they will go back to their home country and brag about it. If they have a bad experience, it can do untold damage that sometimes takes years to correct. How can we enhance the experience of students and business people from that region who arrive in Ireland because that is a challenge in itself?

The fact that we do not have direct flights were was mentioned. Since last week, or the week before, we no longer control Aer Lingus, but that is a different matter. Quite a number of flights stop over. A significant amount of Irish emigrants and tourists travel to Australia and New Zealand. How do we get the people who are travelling that far to stop over in ASEAN countries rather than Abu Dhabi? I think I stopped over in Kuala Lumpur many years ago and enjoyed the experience.

A significant number of Filipinos live in Ireland and work in our health system. They send money home because the Philippines is a very poor country. How do we capitalise on that and how do they capitalise on it? Do the witnesses see any increase or major progress we can achieve in this regard?