Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree that we have become a multicultural society and we want to engage with other cultures because that diversity will continue to enrich our culture. We want to protect our own culture but, at the same time, embrace new cultures. We are also going to be looking at new technology because that is going to have a huge impact on our culture as well. I have put out these areas as headlines to get people's ideas on how to bring together all the richness we have.

Locally there are a number of different cultural events. In my own county of Monaghan new communities have celebrated their culture and we have celebrated our different cultures together. By bringing them together, our own culture will develop into a richer culture and how we do that will be part of the discussion. I want to encourage as many people as possible to make their views known on how we should move forward because culture is so much a part of what we are as a people. Everyone who leaves this country talks of our culture so it is important we protect it and allow it to grow and flourish.

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