Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

First, I welcome the visit by the Chinese delegation to Ireland, which is extremely important. As lord mayor of Cork, I had the privilege of visiting Shanghai in 2003 or 2004, but I was criticised for so doing, in the same way that Senator Rónán Mullen has now raised the issue. One figure people forget to mention is that in the past ten years 150 million people have been raised above the poverty line in China. No other country has achieved this feat. While I agree that human rights issues should not be ignored, one should also consider the positive achievements within that country.

It might be appropriate, when Members debate the jobs issue, to consider how we can strengthen further Ireland's contacts with China. I had the privilege of setting up and being involved in the establishment of contacts between University College Cork and two universities in Shanghai, on foot of which there is an exchange of students between the two colleges. Irish students travel to Shanghai to study for 12 months, in the process becoming familiar with what is required to work and set up a business in China. Chinese students come here to ascertain what it is like to work in Ireland. This initiative started six or seven years ago and is now bearing fruit. Such long-term planning is needed in Ireland. One measure being taken is to ensure such contacts in China can grow. It is a huge and growing market, of which in the next few years Ireland must receive a bigger slice to create jobs here. It would be appropriate to include such a consideration in any debate in the House on the jobs plan.