Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would rather export our paintings than our people. At a time when there is considerable uncertainty about the future of the national finances, we should be careful about calling on the Government to engage in yet more public expenditure just to keep paintings in Ireland. It might not be our first priority, I would suggest.

I want to echo and welcome what Senator Coffey said about the very positive development of there being €4.8 million for a fully staffed, 20-bed regional hospice in Waterford. This is a gap that needed to be filled. As somebody who wrote a report on the future of palliative care in Council of Europe countries, I have been very conscious of the great work of the hospice movement. It is also a great example of the kind of public-private mutual support and assistance Senator Boyhan spoke about earlier today.

I know the Government is rightly focused on Brexit at the moment, perhaps to the exclusion of all other foreign affairs matters. The issue of Hong Kong is one that should trouble us all in this House. Normally, when I see on my television people with face masks storming buildings, I think they are probably in the wrong. However, I have to say the protesters in Hong Kong must be given more than the benefit of the doubt. They are in a very dangerous situation in Hong Kong. China agreed to an international treaty that there would be one country, two systems, and that was to last until at least 2047. However, the threatened extradition law, whereby people could be extradited from Hong Kong to China, has been truly frightening for people.

I know our country and the Government do significant business with China and the Government enjoys reasonably friendly relations with China, despite the fact it is an authoritarian communist regime, with a contempt for democracy, the rule of law, free speech and religious freedoms. We think about the treatment of Falun Gong, the underground church and Uighur Muslims. This is something that needs our attention.

I was at a conference a couple of months ago in Portugal which was addressed by Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong, who wanted to talk about the secret agreement between the Vatican and the Chinese authorities on the future of the church there. It was also addressed by Martin Lee, one of the fathers of democracy in Hong Kong. The Chinese put on enormous pressure to get those people disinvited from the conference, and people showed up and snatched brochures from the conference venue. I said to myself: if this is what China is like now, what will it be like in 20 years? We need to wake up to the real vulnerability of many countries, including our own, to the financial incentives of engaging with China in particular ways, but which may come at a terrible price for democracy and human rights in the future. Although I fully commend the Government for what it is trying to achieve in regard to Brexit, the disturbing events in Hong Kong are something I think all democratic countries should be turning attention to in their parliaments, and I hope that we will do so soon.