Ivana Bacik (Independent)

It was left to us to be stuck here. As Martyn Turner's cartoon described in The Irish Times yesterday, it was more like the presidential championships, given the number of candidates and political colleagues there.

An important delegation from China was at the ploughing championships seeking to do business with agricultural interests here. China is a hugely important market for us, as the Tánaiste and his Cabinet colleagues have recognised. We are all now familiar with the acronym BRIC covering the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. In the university and third-level sector generally we are trying to encourage international students from those countries and the same applies to international trade. It would be useful for us to debate how best to foster links with emerging economies and China in particular. It is worth noting that a former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has been forging his own links with China. I see that he is a consultant to major Chinese business interests concerned with building a new city there.