Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A colleague quipped yesterday evening, "Are you looking for a way out of politics?". No, my plan is to go for the next general election, win a seat and hopefully gain another seat for our party in Clare. Back to the point, I agree there are so many talented people and Ireland has led the way particularly with female appointments. We have excellent ambassadors. Those of us in the Dáil who have had the pleasure of travelling overseas on official business would have always been greeted by Irish ambassadors who carry the flag for the nation overseas, who do an excellent job and who are supported by embassy staff.

The real point here is that there are many talented public servants outside the Department of Foreign Affairs. We are in unanimous agreement on that. Any Department I can think of would have excellent people working within it. Perhaps there could be a conversion course for them to switch across to the Department of Foreign Affairs and climb to the rank of ambassador. Indeed, there are former holders of elected office who have incredible diplomatic skills.

Then there are the many people who have represented Ireland in the business world and in the fields of sport and culture and who have proven leadership and acumen. There is a broader range of people and perhaps there is a pathway or conversion mechanism for them to be able to serve our people as ambassadors overseas.

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