Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach should continue the long-term tradition of travelling to the White House to meet President Trump. It will afford him an opportunity to articulate all that is good in Ireland. He should tell the President that visitors and refugees are welcomed with compassion and courage on this island. He should also say Ireland is at peace, that we have torn down our walls and that we want to build bridges. Unfortunately, what is happening as a consequence of the Brexit vote and the election of President Trump is that the United States which was a democracy that had respect for human rights and the United Kingdom which is the home of parliamentary democracy are building walls, whereas once they built bridges.

The Taoiseach should highlight the fact that in a democracy index Ireland has been ranked in the top six of over 160 countries. It measures the state of democracy against such factors as pluralism, civil liberties and political culture. Ireland has been ranked ahead of the United Kingdom which has been ranked 16th and the United States which has been ranked 21st. As a country, Ireland needs to be open, mature and confident enough to take its place among the nations. We can ask the United Kingdom and the United States to work with us. As Ireland is located between the two, we must be at the vanguard in promoting democratic rights.We must highlight to President Trump all that is good on the island of Ireland. I am not saying everything is good, but we should emphasise the positive. We have come a long way in the past 20 years.