Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Prime Minister Cameron informed me last year when I was in Britain that it was his intention to consider whether it was suitable to hold the G8 summit at Lough Erne in Fermanagh and he said that he would be privileged to extend an invitation to me, which I, on behalf of the people, am very happy to accept.

I understand there are protocols with regard to foreign leaders at that scale travelling to different countries. However, it would be a wonderful opportunity for President Obama to "restart" his visit, as it was cut short on the last occasion he was here, although he enjoyed his day very much. There is a particular protocol to be followed in that regard. I have invitations to extend to other leaders inviting them to consider dropping in here also and will try to get a fix on the situation in the coming period.

One of the issues we have raised at the European Council meeting, which will be a priority for our Presidency, concerns the question the Deputy raised about the scale of unemployment and the global position in so far as growth, jobs, security and stability are concerned. As holders of the Presidency, we would like to conclude trade agreements with Canada, Japan and a number of other far eastern countries. One of the outstanding issues has been the question of the capacity and potential of free trade between the European Union and the United States, the two greatest economic trading blocks in the world. A high level report was commissioned on this some time ago and this report has been finalised and presented to both the European and American sides.

There are difficulties in so far as how some of the countries look at these issues. However, from the European Council and Presidency point of view, we strongly support this because it has the potential to grow the economies of Europe by an average of approximately 2%, with the possibility of creating 2 million jobs or more in Europe alone. The report has been received by the American Administration and I understand President Obama may refer to it in his address to the nation this evening. I hope he does. As far as the Presidency is concerned, we will run very hard with that mandate to get the platform in place where these discussions can take place. This has implications for us, with Irish firms now employing almost 100,000 people across 50 states. The impact of so many areas of investment either way would be enormous.

In the global perspective, I hope the G8 and the leaders who attend will focus on where we will be in ten, 15 or 20 years. When speaking to people in Davos, the issue of the opening up of Myanmar, the former Burma, arose. It is a country of which we do not have great knowledge, although there were real connections between Ireland and Burma as it was called. That country of 60 million has a huge range of natural resources, yet some 58 million of its people have never had access to communications. That country will move from what might be termed ground zero to cloud computing and cloud access straight away. The scale of the investment there will be enormous. When the G8 informs us that in the next five years, an extra 3 billion people will have access to the Internet, we see the scale and capacity of what is involved.

I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Bill Gates and his wife who were here recently representing his foundation. Think of the impact of the elimination of polio.

Only three countries - Pakistan, Afghanistan and India - have yet to beat it. They reckon it will be eliminated globally inside six years. Mr. Gates is interested in malnutrition and the supply of malaria nets. Ireland has been involved in the work of the European Union in this area which has had an impact in dealing with such matters as stunted growth, under-nutrition and malnutrition. We have looked at what we can do. As a visitor to the G8 summit, I intend to refer to such matters in Ireland's interests if I get an opportunity to do so.

It is obvious that the situation in the Middle East will be raised at the summit. The fundamental issue is the central focus on a two-state solution. It is a question of the degree of concentration that both the Palestinians and the Israelis have on this central tenet. That is the base on which peace can be built. People greater than me have spent years trying to bring about a realisation of what might be possible. It is a case of continuing to work very hard on the issue. I will be happy to raise the matter if an opportunity to do so presents itself to me.

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