Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 March 2013
11. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the additional communications that have been held with Irish ambassadors since his re-call meeting of ambassadors in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15586/13]
View answerIn fulfilment of the commitment made in the programme for Government, a two-day conference of Ireland’s heads of mission abroad, entitled Promoting Ireland Abroad, was held in Dublin on 1-2 June 2011. The conference was designed to ensure the heads of mission were fully briefed on the Government’s new approach to promoting and marketing Ireland as a country in which to do business. This was in order to strengthen their capacity to continue their ongoing work in support of the effort to repair Ireland’s international reputation and it was an opportunity for the full team of senior overseas representatives, Irish business leaders and the heads of Irish economic agencies to share best practice in our international economic promotion activity.
The conference provided a valuable opportunity to renew the deep commitment of our diplomatic and consular representatives abroad to the challenging task of promoting Ireland’s interests and restoring our country to its rightful position of global authority and respect. A clear outcome of the conference was the determination that a united front of our embassies, State agencies, business organisations and private companies, working closely together, constitute a powerful force for advancing our interests at this crucial period for the country.
Since then, the Ministers of my Department and I have continued to engage intensively and on an ongoing basis with all ambassadors and embassy staff in promoting Ireland and ensuring our international reputation is restored. Last month I had a video conference with some of our key EU missions to express my thanks and appreciation for all the efforts by missions on the promissory notes issue. We have availed of every opportunity to promote Ireland’s interests, including those presented by trade missions, our chairmanship in office of the OSCE, preparation for and the ongoing Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the EU and the continuing work of building bilateral relations throughout the world. In this, I believe, we have been very successful.
I refer the Deputy to my Department's statement of strategy which sets out the challenges and opportunities from 2011 to 2014. In order to meet these challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities, the Department has been reorganised along a more geographic basis, with new regional units having lead responsibility for managing relations and affording our missions abroad the opportunity for greater input in policy making and coordination. Each regional unit now leads the business planning process for missions within its area. Consultations on business plans take place at the beginning of each year during which heads of division and heads of mission set out their priorities in the context of the Department's overall goals for the coming 12 months. Such consultations are facilitated by video-conferencing. I assure the Deputy that engagement with our ambassadors and our missions continues throughout the year on an ongoing basis and at all levels to ensure the assets of the State are put to best use and give citizens the service and the value for money they deserve.
I thank the Minister for his reply. Will he outline the configuration of the regional units? I presume it is on a geographic basis and takes economic and political interests into consideration as well. As the Minister noted, over the years, there has been, quite rightly and understandably, very close co-operation between representatives of statutory agencies and the diplomatic staff attached to our embassies abroad. That is a very practical and necessary approach, be it the IDA, Enterprise Ireland or Bord Bia that is working closely with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in different capitals in particular.
In the odd instance, is it practical to consider assigning some diplomatic duties to personnel from statutory agencies where it is not possible to have diplomatic representation or staff and to have an even greater interaction between the duties and responsibilities of public service personnel? Perhaps Enterprise Ireland and the IDA do not have the resources or need to have a full-time official or officials in a particular location. Similarly, the Minister faces the challenges of trying to cover many areas. Is there scope to consider assignment of duties in practical situations to other members of the public service who are not necessarily members of the Department?
Deputy Smith asked me to outline the lead units in the Department. The Europe division is the lead unit for all 29 bilateral missions in Europe, as well as the permanent representation of Ireland to the European Union and the mission to the OECD and UNESCO. The Anglo-Irish division is the lead unit for 12 missions in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, as well as the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast and the North-South Ministerial Conference in Armagh. The development co-operation division is the lead unit for ten missions in Africa and the embassy and aid programme in Vietnam. The Middle East unit is the lead unit for five missions in the Middle East, including the embassy in Cairo. The Asia Pacific unit is the lead unit for seven missions. The Latin America and Caribbean unit is the lead unit for three missions. The political division is the lead unit for four multilateral missions to the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.
Deputy Smith raised the possible use of representatives from other Departments and State agencies who are abroad. I am examining how we might get a better overall use. If one takes the totality of those representing Ireland abroad, be they diplomats from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, representatives from individual Departments who have a particular representational role in some countries and areas and representatives of agencies, one can see we need to get a more co-ordinated and overall representation abroad. It is something we have been considering in the context of the Export Trade Council which has brought together not just my Department but representatives from other Departments and State agencies to co-ordinate and to give a single focus to our trade and investment strategy abroad.
I have one question relating to our ambassadors in African countries. The statistics relating to rape are frightening and appalling. According to statistics, a rape occurs every 48 seconds in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Can our ambassadors to certain African countries make representations to the governments concerned about the behaviour of their armies? While certain militias are responsible, there is no doubt that the national armies of certain African countries are also involved as a result of the lack of standards.
A significant human rights lawyer has been arrested in Zimbabwe. I ask if the Irish ambassador to South Africa could be present for her trial, because this could be very effective.
Ireland does not have an embassy in Iran, although our trade with Iran is growing. I ask the Minister to consider opening an embassy in that country.
I agree with the Minister. There is general agreement in the House with regard to greater co-ordination. I ask the Minister to provide further information on the business plan for the group of embassies. Is the business plan designed to support trade only? The difficulty may be that separate agencies such as Bord Bia and IDA Ireland are under the remit of different Departments. These are different fiefdoms and it would make sense if the ambassador to a country was the line manager. This would ensure greater co-ordination, rather than allowing people to pull in different directions. When does the Minister intend to introduce that plan?
On the issue raised by Deputy O'Sullivan and the horrendous reports of rape in a number of countries, Ireland takes a very active interest. Where necessary, our ambassadors and embassies undertake work in this regard. I discussed the issue recently with Michelle Bachelet, executive director of UN Women. We also have a very strong position on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which addresses the issue of the impact of conflict on women. It is a matter of great concern.
It is our policy to have country teams which bring together the embassy and the different trade agencies. The country teams, which are headed by the ambassador of each country, report back to the export trade council on the co-ordinated activity that is under way. I refer to some excellent examples such as the establishment in some countries of Ireland House, in which all the agencies are under one roof and work in close co-operation with each other.
Ireland has a relatively small footprint internationally but there is significant potential for growth in trade and attracting investment. There is also increased demand for consular services, as more Irish people are travelling to a range of countries, and for visa applications from people wishing to visit Ireland. I have been looking at how we can make the best use of the Department and the agencies in the context of Ireland's representation abroad, in all its facets, in a more co-ordinated and integrated way. I hope to bring proposals to the Government in the not-too-distant future.
I will allow the Minister to reply to Question No. 12 from Deputy Crowe, but we will not have time for supplementary questions.
