Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the comments of my colleague, Senator McDowell, on China. We have called previously for a detailed debate on our relationship with that country. The Asian country with which I am most familiar is Taiwan, which is a democratic republic. It has a population of 24 million and is the most democratic country in the world. Ireland does not recognise Taiwan and does not trade with it in any real way. I suggest that if this Government and previous Governments had treated Taiwan with the respect it deserves, we could be sending much more beef to Taiwan than to mainland China, and without any strings attached. When I visited Taiwan recently with a number of colleagues, we went to a food trade fair at which almost every European country was represented. However, the Republic of Ireland was not. The EU even had a stand. Most European countries have trade offices in Taipei. They trade openly with Taiwan. For some reason, we are afraid to deal with Taiwan. China only deals with us for commodities it needs. Otherwise, we would be in the ha'penny place. It is time for us to wake up and look at markets other than those that are trying to impose themselves on this country.