Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I did not think so. We certainly have one in Slovenia. At an earlier stage, I was involved in ensuring that the exercise of An Córas Tráchtála, as it was then known, in having trade missions in Budapest and Prague, was reversed to a commitment between the then Department of Tourism and Trade and the Department of Foreign Affairs to open embassies in those two countries. That was in the late 1990s, 1996 and 1997. These are welcome developments.

I would, however, ask the Taoiseach to ensure that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing, while not attributing a left hand to him. I ask that decisions to open embassies are followed by commitments in the Department of Foreign Affairs and within the personnel section of the Department of Finance to provide the extra additional staff, fund them and enable them to operate. From my experience and calculations one is talking of five ambassadors, a minimum of two support diplomatic staff for a basic mission as well as the domestic support personnel on the ground. In areas where Ireland has a particular interest in terms of promoting trade or whatever, there should possibly be a secondment of personnel from Enterprise Ireland to enhance the trade capabilities. That initiative will not happen unless somebody drives it. I hope the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs will ensure that drive is maintained. Given that the current occupant of Upper Merrion Street was previously in St. Stephen's Green, I hope there will at least be a degree of empathy in this regard.

On a wider point, which the Taoiseach and the Minister might like to return to at a later stage, excluding Luxembourg, Ireland had the smallest diplomatic staff of the former 15 EU member states. Given that the Irish diaspora is probably one of the largest in the world, we need to decide how this may be harnessed in a meaningful way, not just around receptions and green beer for St. Patrick's Day, but as trading agents, partners and contacts in a manner the Taoiseach has already explored in Hong Kong. While we have an interest in other parts of the world, we have a particular interest in this one.

The debate on the financial perspectives has not yet really started. I do not know whether it is appropriate for either the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Minister for Finance to initiate that debate in the House. Again, there is the béal bocht mentality that has informed so many administrations which argues that we really only joined the European Union for the money and now that it is disappearing, so to speak, this is a matter of concern. I welcome the fact that Ireland will soon be a net contributor to the European Union. I look forward to the day when it will be a donor rather than a taker. There will still be much financial support in areas where it is needed and among sections of our community. Programmes will receive additional substantial sums of money and Exchequer funding will be matched by European money for programmes that apply to aspects of Irish life. When the accounts are completed, however, in the next four to five years, if not sooner, Ireland will be a net contributor.

Again, leadership has to come from the Government. This must be presented as the day in which the young kid brought home his or her first full salary and not as the day when we had to pay out money. It is a day Ireland will have come of age and by virtue of being a net contributor to the European Union, will assert itself as a successful and wealthy country. The tone of that presentation, how it is argued and presented, despite the nay-sayers asserting that Ireland no longer needs to be in the European Union, is pivotal. I hope we will not forget our experience as regards the support given by the European Social Fund, for example. Both the Taoiseach and I know how that transformed AnCO, latterly FÁS, in terms of the work it was able to do, including on community employment programmes around the country. I hope a negative attitude is not developed towards the role of the Union in supporting programmes in other parts of the EU which desperately need our support. Anything that enables our neighbours and potential trading partners to become wealthy and secure is in our best interest. The contribution that Ireland should willingly make in the revised financial prospectus is something that we should welcome. I do not suggest that we should lose the run of ourselves, but I do not imagine that anyone from Merrion Street would ever lose the run of themselves in that regard. It is a question of presentation and that can best come from the lips of the Ministers in office. As this debate takes place over the next few months, we will see articles from the usual suspects in our newspapers saying that we should seriously question why we are giving this money. All the transported tabloid opposition to the European project will come with it. These are the concerns that I have, along with many others who are in favour of the European project. Leadership must come from the Government of the day. I invite the Taoiseach to continue the leadership that he has already displayed.

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