REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY MCALEESE AT THE NEW YEAR GREETINGS BY THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY MCALEESE AT THE NEW YEAR GREETINGS BY THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN
A Oirircis, A Oirirceasa is a Uaisle Uile,
Cuireann sé an-áthas orm agus ar m’fhear céile, Martin, fáilte fíorchaoin a chur rombhaibh go léir go hÁras an Uachtaráin. Tá mé an-bhuíoch as na beannachtaí a chuir sibh romhainn agus roimh muintir na hÉireann uilig. Tá súil agam go mbeidh ath-bhliain faoi mhaise agaibh agus guím sonas, síochaín agus sláinte oraibh go léir.
Your Excellency, Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen, Girls and Boys:
I would like to thank all of the members of the Diplomatic Corps for the very kind wishes that you have offered to Martin and myself, and through us, to the people of Ireland. We deeply value the friendship of each nation represented here, and the personal friendship of each one of you. We in turn wish you and the citizens of your countries health, happiness and peace.
I would like to say a special word of welcome to the families of the diplomatic corps. We are delighted to see you here in Áras an Uachtaráin, especially those of you who are here for the first time, having made your home in Ireland during the past year. I hope your all too brief stay with us in Ireland will be one of great happiness, a time that you will look back on with fondness in the many years, and many postings, to come.
As ever, this past year has been marked by the loss of dear friends, old and new - including our last Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Storero, and of course in the very recent past, the unexpected and very sad loss of the Delegate-General of Palestine in Ireland, Dr. Yousef Allan. Mrs Allan and all his family are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.
We also start the year, however, with good news, and it is a very particular pleasure to greet our most recent arrival, the new Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Lazzarotto, who within just over a week of his arrival in Ireland, has already visited us twice in the Áras. We hope that it is a trend that will continue. I know he will find a warm welcome in Ireland even if the weather is different from his last posting! We all wish him personal contentment and professional fulfilment during his time here.
This past year, the first of the long-awaited new Millennium, has been an exciting and challenging one for us in Ireland. We have continued to build on the foundations for lasting peace laid down by the Good Friday Agreement. As we begin this new year, we must also re-dedicate ourselves to overcoming the remaining difficulties that lie between us and the full implementation of the Agreement. That means ensuring that all of our people can share in our new prosperity, that everyone is enabled to face the future with a greater sense of hope and with a real sense of purpose and of achievement in how far we have come.
I am, of course, conscious that this progress could not have been achieved without the constant support and encouragement of the international community. We do not underestimate our debt to our friends throughout the world who have sustained us through times of despair when peace seemed to be a distant dream. Those same friends stand with us as we edge towards a vision of a peaceful, inclusive and prosperous future. And I would like to thank the many individuals gathered here today whose personal efforts and hard work have contributed immeasurably to realising that dream.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On 1st January, Ireland took its place in the Security Council for a two-year term. We are acutely conscious of the trust placed in us by the international community in electing us. The values which have always inspired our foreign policy will continue to guide our actions on the Council. We are deeply aware of the political instability and violence in a number of African countries, which have given rise to appalling suffering among millions of people. As a member of the Security Council, Ireland will do its utmost to advance the cause of peace and justice in Africa.
We in Ireland know the pain of long-standing conflict, but we have shown that no matter how seemingly intractable the problems, it is never too late or too difficult to start building peace. We are committed to supporting, in whatever way we can, an enduring resolution of the Middle East peace process and we hope that our experience will be a source of hope and encouragement to both sides, in seeking a just and balanced solution.
During my recent visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Kosovo I had the opportunity to learn at first hand of the problems which the people of those regions are now facing in terms of refugee return, respect for human rights and economic regeneration development. I was glad to have the opportunity to pay tribute to the efforts of the international community in dealing with these problems and was especially proud of the contribution which Irish people, both civilian and military, are making to a safer and more humanly decent life for the people of the Balkans.
We are all too aware of the many parts of our world where human rights are cruelly abused and trampled on. Ireland remains committed to actively promoting universal human rights standards at home and abroad and I am pleased that 2000 has seen our ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. Ratification at this time is especially appropriate in the light of the UN World Conference Against Racism to be held in South Africa later this year. But it is equally important here at home, at a time when Ireland is facing for the first time, the challenges and benefits of net inward immigration.
In the coming years, the European Union will undergo its most far-reaching enlargement yet. This is an historic development, which will see the creation of a new, even more dynamic Union, coming ever closer to the European ideal. The new Member States will contribute a fresh enthusiasm, which will reinvigorate the Union. At the European Council meeting in Nice, the institutional reforms necessary to allow this enlargement take place were agreed. We now look forward to the many opportunities for both new and old Member States which this wider family membership will bring - not just economically and politically, but also in terms of new friendships between countries and individuals.
Ireland, which has benefited enormously from membership of the EU, looks forward to playing a full part in this process. We are fully committed to assisting the applicant states in their journeys toward accession and we look forward to welcoming them into the Union in the coming years.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we commence the new Millennium, widespread poverty is still the greatest challenge to the international community. An estimated 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day, with a further 1.6 billion existing on less than $2 a day.
Ireland pledged at last September’s Millennium Summit, to reach the U.N. target of 0.7% of GNP for overseas development co-operation by 2007. Our new-found economic wellbeing has yielded the resources to make this commitment viable but, of equal importance, is that our people and the developed world as a whole, fully appreciate that this is not just an international obligation but is simply the right thing to do - that the inequities and inequalities which inhibit and blight the lives of a significant proportion of human-kind are amenable to preventative actions. We can and must take action in critical areas such as HIV/AIDS and the burden of debt; we must do so in a manner that is sustainable and that confers a sense of dignity through partnership and inclusiveness on people in developing countries.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
We greatly value your work as diplomatic representatives in intensifying our links with the international community. Today you begin the balance of your posting to Ireland and look forward to future appointments. I would like all of you to carry a positive sense of Ireland and the friendships you forged here throughout the rest of your careers. Hopefully your children will also have happy memories of their years here and in time become young ambassadors for Ireland.
Before we raise our glasses, I want to thank Your Excellenciesagain for your kind wishes.
Gúim rath agus sonas oraibh go léir.
Now I would like to propose a toast –
TO THE HEADS OF STATE HERE REPRESENTED.