The now five-month detention of Irishman Seamus Culleton in a Texan United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, facility will have come as a bucket of cold water to people who thought it was only people with criminal records who would be the targets of ICE. The fact that his situation is already being considered in a US courtroom makes clear that his detention is not an aberration. It is an expression of the new tough application of what were, in fact, long-standing rules. It seems that if there is to be a solution it will have to be a political one. There is no one better than the Cathaoirleach to raise Mr. Culleton's plight with his extensive contacts in the US. I have been reaching out to whatever contacts I have. I have begun doing that and would encourage colleagues to do likewise.

In that context, I note with interest and concern the comments by John Deasy, former TD and Government envoy to Congress on the undocumented Irish. He seemed to be saying, quite frankly, that he does not believe that enough has been done to build and deepen relationships on all sides of the political divide in the United States. I do not know whether that is true. I thought the response of the former ambassador this morning was quite defensive. However, these are always fair questions to be tried. We need to ask whether our model of diplomatic engagement is fit for purpose in the very challenging environment that the US now presents. We must ask whether there is a need for more long-term people on the ground, meeting all sides and making sure that whatever the policy differences there might be at government level, there is relationship building, particularly with those who might have the ear of the President.

We see our Government working to strengthen relationships with the Chinese Government. I hope our Government will not forget the plight of that very brave man, Jimmy Lai. It was distressing to hear the glee on the side of the Hong Kong authorities at the terrible sentence that has been handed down to him.

We are in delicate and deep waters. We all need to take an interest and consider the question of whether we have the model right for our diplomatic engagement with the US at the moment.