Before I call the next speaker, I welcome my friend, the ambassador from the Czech Republic, Pavel Vošalík. He is most welcome to Seanad Éireann today. In October of each year, the Czech Republic celebrates its independence day. It was in 1918 that an independent Czechoslovakia was declared in Prague. As we all know, many countries got their independence on foot of the end of the First World War. Ireland, curiously enough, was the only country of a winning power to gain any level of independence after the First World War. The Czechoslovakian republic was one of those who became an independent state as a result and in 1929 established a consulate here in Dublin.

With the communist takeover following the Second World War, relations between Ireland and Czechoslovakia changed somewhat but we were delighted to see the re-establishment of an embassy here in 1993, and the Irish Republic established an embassy in Prague two years later.

We share a common interest in the European Union. We thank the Czech Republic for its support for Ireland during the Brexit negotiations. Even though they feel like a lifetime ago now, we are still working our way through them. We will work closely together during our Presidency of the European Union next year. In this week of presidential elections, we are delighted to have a statue of a former President of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel, in Leinster House. Ireland and the United States share the distinction of having a statue of the President of the Czech Republic in their legislative assemblies. This October, on behalf of the Seanad and the people of Ireland, we wish the ambassador a happy independence day. I thank him for being here in Seanad Éireann today.