Motion to invite Mr. John Howard, M.P., Prime Minister of Australia to address the Dáil on Tuesday 23 May 2006
A Cheann Comhairle,
The Right Honourable Mr. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, will pay an official visit to Ireland from 20-24 May, 2006. The Government propose that, during his visit, he should be invited to address the Dáil. This courtesy is one which the Dáil extends from time to time to visiting Heads of Government of countries with which Ireland has particularly close ties. Australia is certainly one such country.
Australia’s links with Ireland go back to its very foundation and they have been added to and reinforced by continuous waves of Irish people who, for one reason or another, have made Australia their home. We in Ireland are pleased that Australia was so welcoming to them and gave them the opportunity, not only to integrate into Australian society, but to mould, shape and develop it.
Deputies will remember that Prime Minister Howard’s predecessors, Prime Ministers Hawke and Keating, addressed the Dáil during their visits to Ireland and I am delighted to propose that we should ask Prime Minister Howard to continue the tradition.
This is the first visit to Ireland by an Australian Liberal Prime Minister. Given the close historical ties between our two countries it is a landmark occasion. Historically, the Irish in Australia were linked to the Australian Labour Party. But, nowadays, Irish-Australians are active right across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Howard himself claims some Irish ancestry.
This will be the first visit by Prime Minister Howard to Ireland since 1977. We know from our preparation of his visit that he is interested in the transformation of the Irish economy and we will be pleased to demonstrate to him the success that we have achieved. His visit will also permit us to return the warm hospitality that he extended to the Taoiseach and to President McAleese during their respective visits to Australia.
The Prime Minister’s official programme will begin on Monday next, 22 May, with a wreath laying ceremony at Kilmainham. He will then meet students from the Australian Studies Centre at University College Dublin. There will be a civic reception for him at the Mansion House. A lunch organised by Dublin Chamber of Commerce, IBEC and Enterprise Ireland will provide the Prime Minister with an opportunity to meet Irish and Australian business interests.
Both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs will hold official talks with the Prime Minister. Fortunately, our relations with Australia are very good and the talks will focus on how to develop and strengthen them. The Prime Minister will also be received by President McAleese. You, a Cheann Comhairle, have agreed to meet him as have the Leaders of the Opposition parties. Then, if the Dáil approves this motion, the Prime Minister will address this House.
The Prime Minister’s visit to Ireland provides a valuable opportunity to build on the historically close and increasingly dynamic relationship between Australia and Ireland, and to further pursue our mutual interests in expanding trade and investment; people-to-people links; and practical cooperation in areas such as research and development, information technology and education.
As I have already said, Ireland’s bilateral relations with Australia are excellent. Ireland has had an Embassy in Canberra since 1946. Australia also opened its Embassy in Dublin in 1946. Ireland opened a Consulate-General in Sydney in 2000. The President paid an official visit to Australia in March 2003; her two immediate predecessors paid State visits. There have been several other high-level visits to Australia in recent years, including that of the Taoiseach in March 2000 and the Tánaiste in 1999 and again in 2001. The Minister for Finance visited Australia for St Patrick’s Day this year, having visited as Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2001.
People-to-people contacts are widespread and frequent. The working Holiday Visa Scheme with Australia continues to be very successful. Approximately 10,000 Irish young people visit Australia each year under the scheme and 2,000 Australians visit Ireland. Australia is also an important market for Irish tourism. The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism has visited Australia twice to promote our business there. We estimate that, in 2005, 150,000 Australians visited Ireland. We look forward to an increase in this figure with the introduction of better air links. An important development was the introduction in December 2005 by Gulf Air of direct flights from Dublin to Bahrain which have onward links to Australia. In March 2006, Aer Lingus introduced direct flights to Dubai, which can link with Emirates flights to all ports in Australia.
Ireland and Australia have a shared interest in culture and sport. As our people moved, we extended the reach of our sport and culture along with them. In the case of Australians, they have proved adept at taking what they inherited and taking it to a higher plane, be it Gaelic/Aussie Rules, literature, painting, traditional music or Irish dancing. At the recent World Irish Dancing championships Belfast, two young Australians from Wallangra, in New South Wales, beat top class competitors from around the world to become the first male and female winners in the history of Australia’s Irish dancing community.
We have a very healthy trading situation with Australia, with the balance very heavily in our favour. In 2005, two-way trade was valued at € 864 million, with Irish exports valued at € 734 million and imports from Australia at € 130 million. Of particular significance in recent years has been the success in Australia of Irish software companies and farm machinery manufacturers. I myself led a successful trade mission to Australia five years ago which targeted these sectors. Currently, 44 Irish companies operate in Australia, more than double the figure - 19 – that operated there five years ago. There are 35 Australian companies in Ireland from the manufacturing, financial and international services sectors. One of the leading contractors involved in the construction of the LUAS was the Brisbane firm of Sinclair, Knight and Mertz.
The Taoiseach’s discussions with the Prime Minister’s will also allow them to exchange views on the wider relationship between Australia and the European Union. The E.U. is Australia's largest single economic partner - its largest partner in terms of two-way trade in goods and services, the largest investor in Australia, and the second largest destination for Australian investment overseas. The Joint Declaration on Relations between the EU and Australia reaffirms the determination to build up the relationship in order to support democracy and the rule of law, to promote peace and security and non-proliferation. We are particularly interested in the excellent work done under the Agreement Relating to Scientific and Technical co-operation between Australia and the E.U.
Because of its genesis and history, Australia has long had a strong interest in Northern Ireland. Australia was an early contributor to the International Fund for Ireland and has been strongly supportive of the Good Friday Agreement. The visit by Prime Minister Howard will allow him to hear and see at first hand just how much the Northern Ireland situation has been transformed since his visit in 1977.
Deputies will be well aware of this government’s interest in developments in the Asia‑Pacific region. We will be interested in hearing from the Prime Minister how he views developments from inside the region. Closer relations with China and India are a priority for Australia: Prime Minister Howard has been to China several times and visited India earlier this year for the first time. Given the recent visits to Asia by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, there will obviously be fruitful ground for exchanges of views on this most important region. I know from my previous experience as Minister of State for Development Co-operation of the importance of our shared interest in the development and well being of the new state of East Timor. In my time as Minister of State, Ireland added East Timor as a priority country to its Aid Programme. There will also be the opportunity to discuss other political issues, including those that arise in the United Nations.
I believe that not just the Government, but the Dáil, too, will be interested in hearing Prime Minister Howard’s views on Australian-Irish relations and on wider world issues. Deputies have strong links with their Australian counterparts, which have been developed through exchanges of visits and information. Many Oireachtas Committees have gained valuable experience from study visits to Australia. The proposed address to the Dáil by Prime Minister Howard is another opportunity for a valuable exchange of information and a strengthening of our friendship with a long‑standing and important friend. I commend the motion to the House.
Thank you.