Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I am very pleased to be here and I welcome the opportunity to address this committee for the first time since my appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in July. The fact that I have not addressed the committee over the past few months is not an indication of my lack of engagement with it. I have followed the progress, work and reports not only of the Chairman, but of the members and the committee. I think it is true to say that the only citizen of this State who travels more than the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is the Chairman, for the time being, of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. That is perhaps another reason that we did not have an opportunity to engage earlier.