Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassador and first secretary. Some of the questions I wanted to ask the ambassador have already been asked so I will be brief.

The ambassador is probably as well known around these Houses as most members are and better known than some. The ambassador does an excellent job representing his country and I thank him for his presentation.

I wear two hats as I am the convenor of the Oireachtas Georgian Friendship Group and a member of this committee. Therefore, I believe we should wholeheartedly support the ambassador's call for the Irish Government to open an embassy in Tbilisi in Georgia. I agree an embassy would be an important step in the expansion of the Irish global footprint. Indeed, perhaps we could use the experience of the Chairman and his good offices to assist us in expediting that objective, as soon as possible.

On annexation by Russia, the ambassador mentioned that 20% of the Georgian territory is occupied and in the region of 125 villages are occupied. Can he elaborate on what he meant by the term "continuous annexation"? He mentioned it in reply to a question by Deputy Brady but I am interested to hear more about the issue.

I am very impressed by the figures on the Georgian economy over the last number of years. Like Senator Craughwell, I was fortunate to visit Georgia so I can attest to the fact that it is a very progressive country and I take this opportunity to wish Georgia well in its application to join the European Union.

In terms of something that Deputy Berry mentioned, as part of the visit to Georgia the delegation visited the EU monitoring group. I am glad to say that the Irish are very well represented in that group by members of the Defence Forces and it is something that we can be proud of. Does the mission still exist and continue the good work that it did a number of years ago?

The ambassador mentioned the avoidance of double taxation in Georgia and the huge opportunities that presents for companies. We are primarily interested in Irish companies establishing there as they would have access to a market worth over €2 billion. Ireland, as a country, should seriously consider that market and maybe another committee might also pursue this issue. There is a huge opportunity for Irish dairy and meat products, in particular, but there are opportunities in other areas as well.

I thank the ambassador for attending and giving an excellent presentation. We look forward to working with him in the future.