Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Never before in our history has democracy been so under threat. We now have three leaders in the world who feel they can do as they please with impunity. We have Putin taking what he wants in his attacks on Ukraine; we have Donald Trump in the United States threatening to take Greenland by force if he has to; and we have, further south in the world, the Chinese threatening Taiwan, a peaceful, quiet democracy in the middle of that area.

Last week, 76 aircraft, 20 naval and coast guard ships and the Shandong carrier group were in positions off Taiwan. It was clearly a threatening move by the Chinese against Taiwan. China has always seen Taiwan as one of its provinces, and I have no doubt that while the world is consumed with what is happening in Washington, Gaza and Ukraine, there is a chance we will take our eyes off what is happening around Taiwan.

The threat to the Taiwanese straits impacts the world as much as Trump's tariffs. We now have two great dangers facing the world, and it is long past time that Ireland reopened an office, if for nothing else than to underpin the democracy that is Taiwan. Many of us in the House have been to Taiwan and many of us have met the Taiwanese, and we know exactly the threat they live under. It is time that we had a debate on Taiwan. Our friends in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will not be too happy about it, but it is time we were honest and open in a debate about where Ireland stands on Taiwan. We are looking for new markets and my colleague Senator Ahearn made the point last week that we should be looking closer to Berlin than to Boston, and possibly we should be looking to the Far East as well. If the Cathaoirleach could organise a debate, I would appreciate it.