Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the proposal from the European Commission that will enable the current PEACE and INTERREG programmes to continue until the end of 2020, even in the event that there is a disorderly Brexit. Work has already begun on a new PEACE+ programme that will build on and continue the work of the PEACE and INTERREG programmes. This will provide reassurance for all those who benefit from these vital cross-Border programmes in Northern Ireland and the Border counties.

Our ability to advance our national interests and exert our influence, both within and beyond the European Union, has never been more important. We are working to deepen our influence within the European Union, influence the debate on the future of Europe and diversify our trade with the wider world. We have an ambitious vision for our role in the world. We launched the Global Ireland initiative, which aims to double the scope and impact of Ireland’s global footprint by 2025. This is something we should be doing, even if there was no Brexit. It means doing things differently, doing more and doing things better.

Ireland is opening new embassies and consulates around the world, including this year in Mumbai, Los Angeles, Cardiff and Frankfurt. It is hard to believe we do not have consulates in these places already. Mumbai is a city of 40 million people and the economic capital of India. Los Angeles is one of the cultural capitals of the world. Cardiff is in our nearest neighbour, Wales. Frankfurt is the financial and economic capital of Germany and home of the ECB. All of the consulates will open this year. Some of them have already been opened and there will be others. We are also expanding some of our embassies.

We are investing more in our agencies such as IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and Tourism Ireland. We are sharing our cultural offering around the world because for so many people, particularly those who are not of Irish heritage, their first glimpse of Ireland is through the window of our unique culture, language, literature and dance. We are developing new air and sea connections. We are welcoming more international students to Ireland. We have become an observer member of la Francophonie. We have joined the Asian and African investment and development banks. We are expanding our international development programme, with an increase of €100 million in our overseas aid budget this year. This represents the most ambitious renewal and expansion of Ireland’s international presence since the foundation of the State.

At home we are developing new initiatives to modernise local government. On 24 May the people of Cork city, Waterford and Limerick will be given the opportunity to have their say on whether they want to democratically elect their own mayor, thus allowing more decisions to be made in Cork, Waterford and Limerick for Cork, Waterford and Limerick, rather than in Departments in Dublin. It provides an important opportunity for these city regions to elect a mayor with real responsibility to drive their cities and counties forward. If approved, the Government will initiate legislation to allow for the first directly elected mayors to take up office in 2022. Of course, we are not forgetting about Dublin. Work is under way to establish a Dublin citizens’ assembly to consider the type of local government structure and directly elected mayor, if any, that would be appropriate for the capital. Depending on the outcome of the assembly, a plebiscite will be held on the subject in 2021.

Seventy years on from when Ireland became a republic, we are living in epoch-changing times. We are a sovereign people in a participative democracy, influencing and shaping matters at the centre of multilateral decision-making. We are able to do so thanks to the efforts of the revolutionary generation who reasserted our sovereignty and independence with the passing of the Republic of Ireland Act. It is fitting that this House is giving time to acknowledge its passing. For some, the occasion of Ireland becoming a republic in 1949 was a symbolic, rather than a real, change; for others, it was the culmination of a lifelong dream. Our history shows that symbols and dreams matter. The achievement of 70 years ago was a significant moment in our development as a country. By remembering the achievements of the past we can take confidence in dealing with today’s challenges and be inspired about the future.

I again thank Senators for the invitation to be here. I look forward to hearing their contributions.