Seanad debates

Thursday, 27 October 2011

11:00 am

Photo of Feargal QuinnFeargal Quinn (Independent)

It will not be easy. I was in Greece a couple of weeks ago. There was no doubt that a lack of belief in themselves was contributing to what was happening in Greece. We must make sure that does not happen with us. It is important that we have established a name for ourselves by the time we go back in 18 months' time or whenever we need to borrow again. I congratulate those who have refused to say we should not pay our debts, who have not argued it is the fault of the banks or somebody else rather than our own fault, and who have not said the Germans should not have loaned moneys at such low rates. I hope what I am saying will strengthen the resolve of those who say that we made a deal and we should stick to it.

I would like to make another reference to my family. I have a 20 year old granddaughter who was born in and lives in France. She is spending this year in China because she wants to be a diplomat in the French foreign service. This is not something we do in Ireland. We send our diplomats to China, Japan or Korea for three or four years when they are in their 40s or 50s. They never really know the language. They never really get to the kernel of it. What they do in France is different. They get people who are prepared to live in, and steep themselves in the culture and language of, those countries. I suggest we should consider doing the same. I ask the Leader to draw the attention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade to what happens elsewhere. We should encourage a cadre of young people in their early 20s to join our diplomatic service. We should say we want them to live in countries like China, Japan or Korea in the knowledge that they will become diplomats in the future and be appointed as ambassadors when they are in their 40s and 50s. It is something we should consider. We are not looking far enough ahead to where we are going. We are not realising that new developments are taking place in the Far East. I do not believe we have done nearly enough to ensure our future is secure there.

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