Vol. 523 No. 5
172 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of Irish embassy offices in central and southern America; the staff complements in each; the plans he has to open new embassies in central and southern America; and, if so, the locations of each and the timeframe in this regard. [21504/00]
There are two Irish Embassies in central and south America, one in Mexico city and the other in Buenos Aires. The staffing complement for Mexico is three diplomatic officers and four locally recruited staff and for Buenos Aires two diplomatic officers and four locally recruited staff. In addition, Ireland has Honorary Consulates in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.
I am keeping under continuous review the need to establish further Irish Embassies abroad and one of the Government's priority areas is central and South America. In this context, the Government is engaged in a review of our strategy towards central and south America and further resident diplomatic representation will be considered within that framework.
