As a former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Andrews will be aware of the costs involved in his proposal. There is a Government decision on this matter, going back to 1989, that where semi-State bodies are set up in countries or cities where we have consular offices or Embassies, they should amalgamate and co-ordinate their activities as far as possible.
For instance, the Ireland House concept was opened in New York in 1993 and is the most developed form of it. The accommodation there comprises the consulate, ABT, the IDA, BFE, SFADCo., Aer Lingus and CIE Tours. The Ireland House in Tokyo, opened in 1995, accommodates the Embassy, the IDA, ABT, ABB, BFE and Aer Lingus. The new Embassies in Budapest, Prague and Kuala Lumpur have a trade board representative as a deputy head of mission, making them, in effect, Ireland Houses.
There are also a number of commercial Ireland Houses in London, Paris, Dusseldorf, Milan and Hong Kong, which involve State agencies only and in some instances only some of the agencies participate. There are also a number of agencies sharing Embassy accommodation, for instance, ABT in Beijing, ABT and the IDA in Seoul, ABT in Moscow and Riyadh and ABT and Bord Fáilte in Helsinki. The committee is concerned about the matter. It is a good concept which I and the Government fully support. In so far as is practicable, we will continue our efforts in this area.