On behalf of the committee, I welcome the delegation from the Parliament of the Republic of Kenya. Céad míle fáilte; a hundred thousand welcomes. I hope they have found their visit in the past two days to be useful. I invite H.E. Mr. Michael Mubea Kamau, ambassador of the Republic of Kenya, to address the committee.
Visit of Kenyan Delegation
H.E. Mr. Michael Mubea Kamau
I thank the Chair and honourable members. It is a great joy to be here this afternoon to represent my government with this delegation from Kenya. Ireland is an important partner of Kenya. Its support for our nation pre-dates the formal establishment of diplomatic relations. Ireland invested heavily in Kenya, especially in education, and this co-operation has continued to date. Ireland supported us in the Africa Climate Summit, which was a huge summit that took place in Nairobi and Ireland was represented by none other than the Irish Minister for the environment. This morning I had lunch with the Department of Foreign Affairs and we were still reviewing our previous relationship. The members of the Kenyan Parliament who are present came here to demonstrate how important this country is to Kenya. Kenya has also contributed greatly to the development of this nation. As we speak, more than 1,000 Kenyans are working in tech companies here and more than 1,000 students are studying here at undergraduate, masters and PhD levels. In other words, our relationship is mutual and we intend to continue on that trajectory.
I thank the Chair. As the Irish love to say, thanks a million. Go raibh maith agat.
I thank the delegation, including the ambassador, for being here. I welcome them formally. We met yesterday, but on the record of the Oireachtas, I give a huge welcome formally to the delegation from Kenya.
Yesterday, members of this committee had the opportunity to directly engage with members of the petitions committee from Kenya. I found it to be a useful dialogue. I learned a lot from what is happening in Kenya and from the individuals who all made contributions. It is great to hear His Excellency speak about the mutual relationship between our two great countries and talk about our united front on such issues as climate change. It is interesting to hear that 1,000 Kenyans work in the tech sector alone in Ireland. That goes to show the hugely important role that residents, citizens and members of our new communities are playing in our society and economy. Speaking on behalf of the committee, I thank the ambassador, on behalf of the people involved, for making Ireland their home. They are welcome here. We need them. It is great to see students in our colleges because that is how we develop a truly diverse, inclusive and progressive society. I thank the delegation.
I welcome the ambassador and the delegation. We enjoyed the interaction yesterday. It was extremely educational. We did not have enough time to go through everything. One funny thing is that today is an historic day. The delegation is part of history. It is the first time we have had a delegation from another petitions committee meet our petitions committee. It is now on the record. We will all get a little congratulatory star in our copybooks. I hope we can continue this and learn fast. We learned a lot of things that would probably cause the Ceann Comhairle to have a heart attack if we implemented them, such as the way we invite witnesses and so on.
I thank the delegation sincerely. Go raibh míle maith agaibh. As we say in Cork, it is nice and fresh out there today. I hope the delegation are enjoying the weather they are used to. It is a grand fresh day.
On behalf of the committee, I say to His Excellency that we have found yesterday and today to be informative. It was a pleasure to meet the delegation and have the discussion about our petitions committee and how the Kenyan one is set up. As Deputy Buckley said, we made history in meeting a delegation from another petitions committee. As Deputy Higgins said, it is interesting to hear about the number of Kenyans who are in education and in the IT sector here. These are bonds and friendships that need to continue for the benefit of both countries. I have no doubt we can continue them. We will meet again, whether we go to Kenya or the delegation comes here again, to learn more about the system. As has been said, having heard about the way the committees are conducted in Kenya, I think our Ceann Comhairle would have a heart attack if we were to be given the same powers. We may look for them but I do not think we will get them. We wish the delegation the best for the rest of their stay and a safe journey home when they depart. We look forward to meeting them again in the near future. Go raibh míle maith agaibh. Well done.
Sitting suspended at 3.09 p.m. and resumed at 3.26 p.m.