Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes. The provinces in China are bigger than Ireland, as members know. The main objective of the ambassador was to twin with the city of Galway. It was interesting that the big Chinese provinces and towns are not twinned with very many European cities. Perhaps Mr. Murray could elaborate on this. Particularly in respect of education, I was told the child is very special in China. If a family wishes to send their child abroad for education, they go to the local Communist Party office and ask what towns or cities around Europe their town is twinned with. Even as late as Monday this week, I met a representative from Huzhou in Galway. There is still a push to twin with Galway. Galway is twinned with Qingdao. I spoke to the city manager and Mr. Paul Kavanagh. I was told there are considerable advantages but we are letting ourselves down big-time because the cities twinned with Chinese cities or provinces are not putting in the work. There are considerable opportunities. Galway is twinned with Qingdao. The world food market conference is to be held there next year. Mr. Kavanagh was telling us we should get out there and work on our twinning. If one is twinned with a Chinese city, one will receive pride of place. Perhaps this is an opportunity on which we should start working. I might talk to somebody about that.

On tourism, a few of us were in Egypt earlier this year. We visited the pyramids one afternoon and were amazed that not one European person was to be seen. They were all from Asia. There were many of them there. There were no Europeans bar ourselves. There is a considerable opportunity in this regard.

GMIT and NUIG in my region have brilliant programmes through which foreign students come here. The big problem is always getting the visa for the student to come in. As a politician, I used to be damned asking to get the visas sorted when Senator Michael McDowell was Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. There was a case in which the son of a very prominent member of the Communist Party was in college in Waterford. The Department refused his visa, which was a huge insult. I got the telephone call about it. In all fairness, the Minister sorted it. I do not know what the system is like now but at the time in question many students came here, spent one day in college, left and were not found again. Many of them were using the visas just to come to Ireland.

That needs to be tightened up. I agree with Mr. Murray that there are major opportunities in China. It is a vast country. Many people say it is a communist country but that is not true. If one was hit by a car in Beijing, it would most likely be an S class Mercedes, a Lexus or an Audi. I recently met a delegation from China in Galway city that is interested in investing in major infrastructural projects due to commence in Galway in the next year or two. They not only want to invest, but they want full control of the project and they want to bring in their own workers, as they do in relation to projects in the Middle East.

Perhaps, as stated by the Chairman, we could discuss the opportunities in this area again the new year. I have been to China a few times and I know it would be worthwhile for members of the committee to visit it to see the opportunities that exist there. We should do all we can to access this market in terms of food and tourism, although I understand access to visas for the education and tourism sectors is a big issue, and I know that people in the Middle East do not like hassle.