Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 April 2023
119. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the dates in 2022, and to date in 2023, that the Irish ambassador to France has visited Marseille, France; and the purpose of each visit, in tabular form. [18959/23]
View answerTravel to the different regions of France represents an important aspect of the work of our Ambassador to France, Niall Burgess, and his team at our Embassy in Paris and has been identified as a priority activity under the Government's strategy for strengthening our bilateral relations with France. During 2022, the focus of the Ambassador's travel programme was heavily influenced by France's EU Presidency in the first half of the year and the extensive list of Ministerial level visits undertaken to attend informal Council and other Presidency-related meetings in France. There were also a number of visits by the Ambassador to Lyon, where Ireland opened a Consulate General in September 2022, as well as visits to Ireland’s Honorary Consul network and France’s northern port towns which now offer a substantially increased number of direct ferry connections between Ireland and France and represent key gateways for Irish trade within the European Single Market.
The Deputy Head of Mission visited Marseille in February 2022 accompanying the then Tánaiste on a EU Presidency- and trade-related visit. A visit to Marseilles by Ambassador Burgess is foreseen in the coming months.
