Brendan Smith
Question:415. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to reopen an embassy in Iran; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36283/17]
View answerWednesday, 26 July 2017
Questions (415)
Written answers
At present, Ireland’s diplomatic network includes 61 Embassies, 7 multilateral missions, 11 Consulates General and one Representative office. The configuration and scale of the State’s diplomatic network is kept under ongoing review by the Government.
The Government is of course conscious of the political, economic, trade and other factors that might warrant the opening of a resident diplomatic mission in Iran – as in a number of other countries. However, resource constraints do not allow us to have resident representation in all the locations that might objectively justify it having regard to those factors.
Ireland’s bilateral relationship with Iran is sustained and promoted through the Embassy of Ireland in Ankara on a concurrent basis. Ireland is also represented in Iran by an Honorary Consul.