Ceann Comhairle leads parliamentary delegation to China

The following members will comprise the delegation:

• Ceann Comhairle, Mr. Seán Barrett TD - Speaker of Dáil Éireann (delegation leader).
• Cathaoirleach, Senator Patrick Burke – Speaker of Seanad Éireann.
• Mr. Tom Hayes, Chair of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications.
• Mr. Pat Breen, Chair of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade.
• Mr. Andrew Doyle, Chair of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
• Mr. Dara Calleary, member of the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
• Mr. John Lyons, Vice-Chairman of the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Committee.

The delegation is visiting China at the invitation of HE Mr. Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC).

While in China the delegation will visit Beijing, Tianjin, Kumming and Shenzhen.

It is hoped that this visit will enhance Ireland’s existing excellent bilateral relations at the political level, further develop the awareness of Ireland in China, sustain the positive momentum of high-level exchanges at parliamentary level, and highlight the importance of good EU-China relations.

The visit provides an opportunity for the delegation to gain a thorough understanding of China – Ireland relations from a trade, political, cultural and foreign relations perspective, and it is envisaged that the visit will serve to strengthen and promote trade, cultural and educational links between Ireland and China.
 
The delegation will meet with the Chairman of the NPC , the Chairman of the CPPCC, and the Chairs of the People’s Congresses in Tianjin, Yunnan (Kunming) and Shenzhen.   The delegation will also attend the Irish Embassy Open Day for Young people and will have an opportunity to enter into a dialogue with the students present.  The delegation will also meet with Irish companies operating in China.

Speaking in advance of the visit the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Barrett TD said “I am delighted to be in a position to accept this invitation from such a senior member of the Chinese administration. Such access to a very important economic player as China represents an invaluable opportunity to promote Ireland and its economic potential. As the focus of this trip is about building greater engagement economically, so the composition of the delegation is built around the key Oireachtas Committees of Jobs, Enterprise, Agriculture, Communications and of course, Foreign Affairs. The respective chairmen of these committees will gain exceptional access to their counterparts in China and I have no doubt that they will take the opportunity to build real opportunities for greater investment opportunities for Ireland. There is also a genuine possibility that the delegation will get to meet President Xi Jinping and I very much hope that this does become feasible during the course of our visit. I also wish to record my thanks to HE Mr Luo Linquan,  Chinese Ambassador to Ireland  and his staff for all their assistance in organising this visit and also for the courtesy HE Mr Luo Linquan extended to me as Ceann Comhairle by attending at Dublin Airport on my departure”.

As this is a bilateral visit, all costs, other than the flight costs and some miscellaneous, are met by the host country.

ENDS /
Further Information: Verona Ni Bhroinn, Press and Public Relations Officer. 087 2624132