TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A parliamentary delegation from Ireland arrived in Taiwan on Sunday and was greeted at the airport by officials from the foreign ministry.
The five-person cross-party delegation includes four members of the Dail Eireann, the lower house of the Southern Irish legislature, and one senator from the upper house, the Seanad Eirann. The group is led by John McGuinness, vice speaker of the chamber and chair of the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Society, according to a ministry press release.
In addition to McGuinness, the delegation includes legislators Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward and Ken O’Flynn, and Senator Teresa Costello.
Malcolm Byrne is chair of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence, while Barry Ward chairs the Committee of European Affairs. The two legislators are also co-chairs of the Irish panel of the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China.
This is the first Irish delegation Taiwan has received since the country held legislative elections in November. A delegation from Ireland’s legislature also made a diplomatic visit to Taiwan in July 2024, which was strongly protested by the Chinese Embassy in Dublin.
The delegation will remain in Taiwan until July 26 and will meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) during their visit. The legislators will discuss international security and issues of trade and economic cooperation between Ireland and Taiwan.
