Feargal Quinn (Independent)

We are coming close to the season of goodwill and it appears that every day we hear complaints in this House about one thing or another. I am as much to blame as anyone else but there were two items in the newspapers today that appealed to me. One of them involves good news, that Ireland was regarded, in the performance ratio of the Reputation Council, a body based in New York and Holland, as being ahead of Britain, the USA and France. We came 11th, which is not as good as we would like for our reputation. We did not do well in some areas. However, this is a reminder that we should not talk ourselves into believing everything is wrong all of the time. This is one piece of good news that deserves attention.

I also wish to comment on the release of the five yachtsmen by Iran. I saw them being interviewed on television this morning following their release and they expressed great appreciation of how they had been dealt with by the Iranians. We often hear nothing but bad news about Iran. However, on this occasion the five men said they had been treated very well. I have not seen the British newspapers in the past six days, but it appears they claimed Iran was likely to hold the men as bargaining tools in its negotiations with the rest of the world. We do not often have something good to say about Iran, but when we have the occasion to do so, we should say it. I hope the Minister for Foreign Affairs who was involved because one of the five yachtsmen had an Irish passport will convey our appreciation to the Iranian Government and Embassy here on their release.