Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledged the strength of the relationship. I did not have the chance, though James Maloney was due to join us. He is highly thought of among the Irish community and our officials, and he is somebody who is a very good friend. I did not have the chance to meet him.

I have to say that the current Canadian ambassador to Ireland is an absolutely wonderful force of energy. She is all over the country, as was her predecessor with regard to expanding footprint. That is the case for our own team, Ambassador McKee and his team in Ottawa. Our ambassador-elect, Mr. John Concannon, will bring his energy to the relationship in 2024. I have no immediate plans to go back there but I know the committee is going there. I feel like St. John the Baptist in that I just paved the way for the committee to go over there. However, members will genuinely get a sense of the connections, and a sense of the wish on the part of the Canadians to deepen and build this relationship, not just economically but also culturally. The Deputy is right. We maybe take these things for granted here but for a country to designate an entire month, we need to appreciate that. Then there is all that goes with that. It is not just a designation, there is a lot of time that goes into that, and investment and events. We need to appreciate that and not take it for granted. We need to attend this relationship with every bit that we can.