Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I compliment Mr. Murray. His presentation was fascinating. The five points on which he has expanded are food for thought. In many ways it is frustrating to listen to him because, unfortunately, it is not easy to arrive at solutions to the problems he highlighted, something about which we have been speaking here. For example, because of financial constraints the Government has closed three embassies. The Tánaiste has said he would love to open embassies in appropriate locations. I agree with almost everything Mr. Murray has said. There is a great cultural link between Ireland and Philippines, not just through the Columban Fathers who provided education there and to whom the Filipino people are extremely grateful, but also through the Irish wife or lover of a famous poet-revolutionary who is honoured annually on a national holiday. The worry, as Mr. Murray quite rightly says, is that if we do not get in before the missionaries die, we will lose that connection when the economy is growing rapidly. We should try to capitalise on that while the missionaries are still there. I do not wish to dent his pride in his native city. It is a wonderful victory that University College Cork won the international competition for Confucius Institutes based in educational institutions, but just because an institution does not have a Confucius Institute does not mean that Chinese language courses are not being provided. The Dublin Institute of Technology has wonderfully proficient lecturers in its Chinese department.