Brendan Howlin
Question:114. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the embassies and consulates that have been opened in the past year; and the number planned for 2019. [48125/18]
View answerTuesday, 20 November 2018
Questions (114)
Written answers
In June of this year my colleagues and I in Government, launched ‘Global Ireland’, an ambitious plan to double the impact of Ireland’s Global Footprint by the year 2025. A key part of this plan is investing in our presence overseas – deepening our network by strengthening our presence in key existing locations and opening new offices which will leverage the opportunities to grow our trade and inward investment, to further strengthen political relationships with our partners and promote our values, and to support Irish citizens and our diaspora abroad. I believe it is prudent and wise to invest now in that global presence and I am delighted to say that work is well under way on the initial phase of the expansion of Ireland’s diplomatic network.
The Government has approved the set-up of 13 new offices including the opening of new embassies and consulates in Wellington, Vancouver, Bogotá, Santiago de Chile, Amman, Mumbai, Cardiff, LA, Frankfurt, Kyiv, Manila and Rabat. The Irish Aid office in Monrovia is also being upgraded to an Embassy.
The new offices in Wellington and Vancouver opened in August and October 2018 respectively. These openings marked significant milestones in our expansion plan and I look forward to the next group of openings which will include the opening of new Embassies in Santiago de Chile, Bogotá, and Amman; and new Consulates General in Mumbai and Cardiff in early 2019. Planning is also underway for the opening of Consulates General in Frankfurt and LA in quarter four of 2019 and the opening of Embassies in Kyiv, Manila and Rabat within a tight timeframe thereafter.
The locations for new missions were identified on the basis of maximising impact in promoting our economic and political interests; expanding our influence in terms of values and in delivering clear benefits for the State.
Global Ireland recognises the importance of reinforcing our existing network to enable us to better shape and influence international events in our interests. It will allow us to play a more active role in supporting and promoting a rules based international environment and will help us play our full role in addressing some of the global challenges that will impact us over the period ahead.
Question No. 115 answered with Question No. 105.