James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Department has a really fascinating development in Japan, which is fantastic. I believe it is called Ireland House. Currently, many State services are being run out of Dubai for quite a large part of the Middle East, even Egypt and other locations. It is crucial for the likes of Bord Bia and other State agencies to have a base on the African continent where they could operate for that region.

I come from a farming background. There has been political instability in north Africa and I know there was a huge drive for democracy there; one of the major catalysts in that respect was the increase in food prices. It is really worrying to see even the minimum progress - it is not perfect - being put at risk in 2023. We can look at the grain port of Mariupol and the Ukrainian harvest that will not reach the market. Egypt, for example, was the largest supporter of Ukrainian grain and the single largest net importer of grain in the world, if I am correct. I am using Egypt as an example but those countries in North Africa are crying out for new sources of agrifood products. There are individual concerns relating to the procurement processes around how to obtain food, where it is government-controlled rather than market-led. The Department of Foreign Affairs could make a big difference to Irish agriculture by focusing on that area.

I am a Corkonian and I raise the fact that all printing of passports happens in Dublin. I do not want to be overly populist and I appreciate the reason for the backlog in passports was down to the human resources side of things, as Ms Byrne indicates. Passport machines are capable of printing even more than they are now but the paperwork has to be done for that.

If somebody completes the documentation, it is an unmerciful journey to go from Castletownbere, Kerry, Wexford, Waterford and Tipperary to Balbriggan in north Dublin in order to collect a passport in an emergency. There is much merit in having at least one machine in the south of the country, particularly any location with good road connectivity. It would make a mighty difference.

Unfortunately, often in these circumstances, as I am sure the witnesses are far more aware of than we are, there can be incredible tragedy involved where people are required to collect a passport in an emergency situation. I know of many bereavements involving young and old people and families panicking about getting passports in order to travel. It would make a remarkable difference. Will the witnesses look at that please?