Darren O'Rourke
Question:129. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on recent activities of the Irish Consulate in Hong Kong, including staffing numbers. [21289/23]
View answerTuesday, 9 May 2023
Questions (129)
Written answers
The role of the Consulate General in Hong Kong is to develop relations between Ireland and Hong Kong across a range of political, economic and people-to-people activities, to provide services to the Irish community, and to report on developments in Hong Kong. There are three diplomatic staff posted from the Department of Foreign Affairs and three locally engaged staff. The Consulate General works closely with the Embassy of Ireland in Beijing.
The Consulate General provides consular and passport services to a community of over 3,000 Irish citizens. These services range from emergency and crisis consular advice to facilitation of passport renewals. In the period of January to April 2023, the Consulate General facilitated the delivery of over 200 passports and dealt with over 1,500 email queries.
Since January, the Consulate General has engaged in a number of activities in line with the objectives set out in the Government's Asia Pacific Strategy. Following the lifting of travel restrictions to Hong Kong, there has been an increase in events and visits, re-establishing in-person engagement with Hong Kong business and cultural sectors.
In February, the Consulate General hosted a successful launch event and exhibition in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong to mark the 90th anniversary of the visit by George Bernard Shaw to Hong Kong.
In March, the Consulate facilitated the visit of the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, as part of a programme of ministerial visits for St. Patrick’s Day. The Minister's programme included engagement on climate action and support for Irish businesses operating in Hong Kong. The Consulate General also supported a number of community events in Hong Kong to mark the national day.
In the first quarter of this year, the Consulate participated in European Union Member State observation of trials of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong brought under the National Security Law and other legislation.
The above key activity is in addition to a programme of ongoing engagements with diplomatic counterparts, the Hong Kong administration, key stakeholders in the financial services industry, other members of the business community, the sporting community and the resident Irish community and members of the diaspora.