€4.8m budget to open new embassies in ‘Global Ireland’

THE Government is set to spend €4.8million on opening new embassies or consulates abroad in 2019, as part of their Global Ireland plans.

Global Ireland is the ‘all-of-Government’ project which is aiming to double Ireland’s impact around the world by 2025.

And as part of the Government’s ‘growing our embassy footprint’ initiative, there are plans to open 26 new embassies or consulates by 2025.

This includes new missions in Vancouver, New Zealand, Liberia, Mumbai, Cardiff, Frankfurt, Colombia, Jordan, Chile and Los Angeles throughout 2019. Tánaiste Simon Coveney believes Ireland will receive ‘a huge return’ for the €4.8million, adding that ‘we’ll also be taking on new responsibilities’.

Speaking recently to reporters at a briefing before Christmas, the Foreign Affairs Minister said: ‘We’re expanding here and we’re doing it at a pace that hasn’t happened since Independence, quite frankly.

‘And we’re taking on a lot more staff, at a lot more expense, more money. But I think if you look at the return on investment from some of these countries and markets, they will be many, many more times than the €4.8million being spent.

‘A key component of Global Ireland, and a demonstration of Ireland’s values of peace, humanitarian action, equality and justice is our campaign for election to the UN Security Council in 2021/22, and 2019 will be a critical year for the campaign.’

As part of the Global Ireland project and citizen engagement with it, a new Global Schools programme will be rolled out which will see Irish diplomats and peacekeepers visiting every secondary school in the country to engage students about the Global Ireland programme and the work of Ireland overseas.