Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

That would frighten me even more.

Present company excluded of course, Deputy Higgins would make a fine ambassador and a fine exponent of foreign policy. I am not comparing one system with another. The American system is much different from ours and has been since its inception, but then it is a different type of jurisdiction and can bring different types of resources into play when a particular person is appointed an ambassador. Ireland is a small State that has played a noble and distinctive role in international affairs, largely because we have invested in diplomacy in terms of the human resource behind this function, ranging from consular initiatives right across to diplomatic, political and economic endeavours. I am a strong defender of the present situation We can always add value and improve, however, and I look forward to the fuller fleshing out of the ideas Deputy Timmins is articulating this afternoon. No doubt they will find their way into a policy document some day when we can discuss these issues in further detail.

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