Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2012
125 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will detail the enterprise development activity of each embassy and consular office abroad in the past 12 months. [20909/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland has 56 Embassies, 7 multilateral missions as well as 10 Consulates General and other offices overseas. While the specific activity of each mission in relation to the promotion of Ireland's economic and trade interests will necessarily differ, depending on market conditions and other factors, bilateral Embassies and Consulates in particular have a role to play in promoting trade and investment opportunities. Our Embassies and other offices abroad are generally small with one or two diplomats in many cases. Given the multi-faceted nature of their work and the wide range of promotional activity across the Embassy network it is not feasible to provide a detailed breakdown of the activity of each Embassy. However, I can assure the Deputy that the promotion of Irish trade and exports is a key priority for my Department and the entire Embassy network.
Embassies are engaged on a continuous basis in efforts to promote Irish products and services and in looking for new opportunities for Irish exporters in markets overseas. They frequently provide a platform to market Irish companies to a global audience. Embassies regularly host promotional events for, and in association, with State Agencies and they also actively contribute to the organisation and conduct of trade missions, including those where Enterprise Ireland client companies travel to markets overseas. The Trade and Promotion Division of my Department works closely with Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in planning such missions.
In putting together programmes of trade and promotional activity for Ministers and other visitors to their region, the Embassy network ensures that incoming high level visits are leveraged for maximum impact. The St. Patrick's Day period is, of course, an occasion for particularly intense activity by the Embassy network in this context but such promotional activity is ongoing throughout the year. As a matter of course, Ambassadors and other Embassy staff work constantly with key political, economic, business and media contacts in their countries of accreditation. The success of high level visits as well as of day to day promotional activity to advance Ireland's interests overseas is dependent on the Embassies nurturing these contacts in what is often a highly competitive environment, particularly in the major and emerging markets.
Embassies also have a key role to play in assisting in the resolution of problematic regulatory issues and gaining access to new markets for Irish products and services. Under the Government's Trade Strategy, 27 priority markets have been identified for the integrated promotion of trade, tourism and investment. These include the BRIC countries as well as other key emerging markets. In these countries, our Ambassador chairs a local market team which consists of the Embassy and representatives from the relevant State Agencies in the field. These market teams submit annual market plans as well as six monthly reports of activity, which are reviewed by the Export Trade Council, which I chair.
I would add that the role of my Department and the Embassy network in trade promotion and in building Ireland's economic reputation abroad is, of course, complementary to the wide range of enterprise development activity which other Government Departments and the State Agencies pursue in the domestic context to support Irish business in entering international markets. Enterprise Ireland and other State Agencies have a range of programmes in place to stimulate entrepreneurship, to encourage innovation, to provide funding and business space for enterprise, to assist companies to achieve scale and develop competitiveness and to develop management capabilities and strategies for growth.
126 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total number of staff in our embassies abroad in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; their distribution by region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25198/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe staffing information for 2012 requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below in respect of Missions abroad. The figures take account of officers of other Government Departments and offices whose salaries and other costs are in some cases borne by the parent Department or office. Also included is a small number of staff indirectly engaged through local employment agencies. Comparable figures for each of the previous four years are not immediately available. Programme staff employed locally by Irish development Missions are not included.
|
Mission |
Current staffing complement |
Changes since 2008 |
Number of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officers posted from HQ |
Comment and/or reason, where relevant |
|
Abu Dhabi |
12 |
+12 |
2 |
Mission established in 2009;Total includes 6 Department of Justice and Equality visa office staff |
|
Abuja |
16 |
-1 |
2 |
Total includes 9 Department of Justice and Equality visa office staff; local staff post suppressed |
|
Addis Ababa |
8 |
-1 |
4 |
Senior Development Specialist post currently vacant |
|
Ankara |
7 |
— |
3 |
|
|
Athens |
7 |
— |
3 |
|
|
Atlanta |
2 |
+2 |
1 |
Mission established in 2010 |
|
Beijing |
24 |
-1 |
5 |
Total includes 8 Department of Justice and Equality visa office staff |
|
Berlin |
12 |
— |
5 |
|
|
Berne |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Boston |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Brasilia |
6 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Bratislava |
4 |
-1 |
2 |
Local staff post suppressed |
|
Brussels (Embassy) |
14 |
-1 |
4 |
First Secretary post transferred to Perm Rep; includes Partnership for Peace Office;total includes 6 staff from other Departments and Offices |
|
Brussels (PR-EU) |
90 |
— |
39 |
Total includes 45 staff from other Departments and Offices |
|
Bucharest |
7 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Budapest |
5 |
-1 |
1 |
Ambassador post currently vacant |
|
Buenos Aires |
5.4 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Cairo |
9 |
— |
3 |
|
|
Canberra |
9.5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Chicago |
5.4 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Copenhagen |
6.4 |
-1 |
2 |
First Secretary post suppressed |
|
Dar-Es-Salaam |
7 |
-1 |
4 |
Ambassador post currently vacant |
|
Dili |
1 |
-2 |
1 |
Third Secretary + Head of Mission posts suppressedEmbassy closing in 2012 |
|
Edinburgh |
3 |
-1 |
2 |
Third Secretary post suppressed |
|
Freetown |
3 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Geneva |
13 |
— |
6 |
Total includes 4 officers from other Departments |
|
Hanoi |
8 |
— |
5 |
|
|
Helsinki |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Kampala |
8 |
— |
4 |
|
|
Kuala Lumpur |
7.5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Lisbon |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Lilongwe |
4 |
-1 |
3 |
Senior Development Specialist post currently vacant |
|
Ljubljana |
5 |
-1 |
2 |
Local staff post suppressed |
|
London (including Passport office) |
51 |
-35 |
29 |
Certain passport functions and posts transferred to HQ and others suppressed including 20 local staff posts;total includes 4 Department of Justice and Equality visa office staff and 6 officials from other Departments or officers |
|
Lusaka |
6 |
-1 |
3 |
Development Specialist post currently vacant |
|
Luxembourg |
5 |
-1 |
1 |
Third Secretary post suppressed |
|
Madrid |
14 |
— |
4 |
Total includes 2 staff from other Departments and Offices |
|
Maputo |
8 |
— |
5 |
|
|
Maseru |
4 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Mexico |
7 |
— |
3 |
|
|
Moscow |
19 |
-2 |
6 |
Total includes 5 Department of Justice and Equality visa office staff |
|
New Delhi |
18 |
-1 |
3 |
Total includes 9 Department of Justice and Equality visa office staff |
|
New York — Consulate General |
17 |
-1 |
5 |
Local staff post reassigned to Atlanta |
|
New York — PMUN |
16 |
+1 |
9 |
Development post added |
|
Nicosia |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Oslo |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Ottawa |
8 |
— |
3 |
|
|
Paris |
20 |
-2 |
7 |
Includes Mission to the OECD and UNESCO; 2 administrative posts suppressed, includes one officer from another Department |
|
Prague |
8 |
-1 |
2 |
First Secretary post suppressed |
|
Pretoria |
12 |
-1.5 |
4 |
Third Secretary currently vacant, part-time local staff post suppressed |
|
Ramallah |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Riga |
3 |
-2 |
1 |
Third Secretary post suppressed, local staff post suppressed |
|
Riyadh |
10 |
-1 |
2 |
Third Secretary post transferred to Abu Dhabi |
|
Rome |
13.8 |
+1 |
3 |
First Secretary post suppressed, 2 local staff posts transferred from Embassy Holy See |
|
San Francisco |
5 |
-1 |
2 |
Local staff post suppressed |
|
Seoul |
6 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Shanghai |
7 |
— |
3 |
|
|
Singapore |
7 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Sofia |
6 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Stockholm |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Strasbourg |
6 |
— |
2 |
Total includes one officer from another Department |
|
Sydney |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Tallinn |
3 |
-2 |
1 |
Third Secretary post suppressed, local staff post suppressed |
|
Tel Aviv |
5 |
-0.5 |
2 |
Part-time local staff post suppressed |
|
The Hague |
10 |
— |
3 |
Total includes 2 officers from other Departments |
|
Tokyo |
11 |
— |
3 |
|
|
Valletta |
3 |
— |
1 |
|
|
Vienna (Embassy) |
8 |
— |
3 |
|
|
Vienna (OSCE) |
13 |
+8 |
6 |
Mission temporarily strengthened for Ireland’s OSCE chairmanship 2012 |
|
Vilnius |
5 |
— |
2 |
|
|
Warsaw |
8 |
— |
3 |
Total includes one officer from another Department |
|
Washington DC |
19 |
— |
9 |
Total includes 3 officers from other Departments |
