Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As I said, the country is continuing to respond to a severe economic crisis, which escalated in 2022 due to the high debt burden and also the pandemic-related fall in tourist numbers and this lead to the suspension of foreign debt payments in April 2022.

There is a small Irish community in Sri Lanka. We continue to provide consular assistance and advice to Irish citizens in Sri Lanka through our embassy in New Delhi and our honorary consul in Colombo. A number of consul visits to Sri Lanka have been undertaken to support Ireland's on-the-ground response to the current economic crisis. The Department currently advises Irish citizens to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to the country.

With respect to our supports, we operate primarily as part of the European context. As I said, Sri Lanka benefits from the EU's GSP+ arrangement, which supports its economic development through trade.

See this speech in context