Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Public Accounts Committee

2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 19 - Official Development Assistance
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade
Vote 29 - International Co-operation

12:20 pm

Mr. David Cooney:

In terms of sharing accommodation, we have rolled that out to the maximum possible. We have an Ireland house concept where it is feasible. We have 17 Ireland house arrangements. In some places it is not feasible, either because they are not there or because the administrative capital is not the business capital.

In terms of moving it to a next stage where we get agencies and the Department to, maybe, double-up in a kind of consulate-type arrangement, we have not yet got there. It is something I would be very keen to look at, for instance, whether we could do it in a place like Rio de Janeiro. That would be a good example. Mumbai also is somewhere where we maybe could have one office doing the two jobs. From the point of view of my Department, I would be more than ready to look at that.

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