Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I very much echo the comments of Senator Richmond. I acknowledge the amount of work done on the bid by the Irish diplomatic corps and the Minister of State. It would be worthwhile to analyse what we did well. We did an awful lot of things really well. There were elements that we could do better, which we can learn from.

One of the most important things that we must do now is acknowledge the countries that supported the bid by Ireland. We must build on that relationship, especially in terms of the newer countries that have joined the EU. We can build a strong alliance with the smaller EU countries.The role that Ministers, Ministers of State and diplomats play on 17 March gives us access to governments. We need to build on those strong relationships. We just missed out. On the toss of a coin, we missed out to France, but to get to that stage was work well done. We now must settle down and see how we can work together to ensure our international reputation is enhanced.

Unfortunately, the incident of the proposed visit to North Korea did not do our international reputation any good. The news that a Cabinet Minister proposed to go to North Korea went across the wold. We joked about it and had a wry smile at the idea, but from talking to friends in other European states, I know they did not see the funny side of it. We knew the individuals and we took it as a joke. That damages Ireland's international reputation. Ministers must understand they are in Cabinet and utterances such as these damage Ireland. I ask them to be cautious in future.

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy D'Arcy, for the work he has done on behalf of the State. It was difficult and meant that he put up a significant number of air miles. We came close and I hope the next time we will win through.