Vol. 551 No. 3
101 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of embassies and consulates abroad; the numbers and countries in which new embassies or consulates were established in the past five years; the policy and likely expansion in the next five years; and if there is a consulate in the Faroe Islands or if the establishment of same would be appropriate. [10500/02]
There is currently a network of 50 embassies, five multilateral missions and 11 consulates general and other offices abroad. The embassies and consulates established in the last five years are as follows: Embassies: Brazil, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey: Consulates: Cardiff, Edinburgh, Shanghai and Sydney.
Ireland does not have a consulate in the Faroe Islands at present. The spread of resident Irish missions abroad is considered by the Government on an ongoing basis. As the Deputy will appreciate, however, constraints on Government expenditure and the limits on the resources that could be made available for opening new missions require that any expansion of our diplomatic network must be incremental and based on a thorough assessment of the costs and benefits involved.
Questions Nos. 102 to 104, inclusive, answered with Question No. 93.
Question No. 105 answered with Question No. 99.
Question No. 106 answered with Question No. 90.
