Vol. 418 No. 5
53 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the East European Countries in which Irish Embassies have been established within the past two years; whether he proposes to establish any further embassies in Eastern Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Within the past two years a resident Irish Embassy has been established in Poland and Irish ambassadors were accredited for the first time, on a non-resident basis, to Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Diplomatic relations between Ireland and Ukraine were established on a nonresident basis earlier this month.
While I would hope that it may be possible to consider some further extension of our diplomatic network in Eastern Europe in the future, as opportunity and resources permit, it would be inappropriate for me to speculate publicly on anything of this kind. Any new arrangements which might be made would in any case have to be agreed in advance with the states concerned.
