Mr. David Cooney:

It has made a difference on the ground in respect of the reach we are able to achieve regarding interaction with business. Atlanta is a very significant hub for business. Certainly, the feedback we have got from the agencies and business presence on the ground is that this has made a big difference to the profile of Ireland. Texas is the same. It is a very significant economy that is bigger than many national economies around the world. Putting someone into Austin, which is the political capital of Texas, will help us significantly. We decided on Austin rather than Houston. Other countries have gone to Houston but they tend to be countries that have a significant interest in the oil business which, unfortunately, is not a business in which we have a high profile. Our analysis was that we would be better focused on Austin. Again, for a very small outlay, we expect to get a decent return from that.

We have an embassy in Brasilia. Brazil is a huge country but São Paulo is the economic capital. The agencies do not have a particularly big presence there. Enterprise Ireland has a part-time presence. I think it is a Portuguese national who is operating on the ground in São Paulo. We think this will make a significant difference in establishing an Irish profile in São Paulo, which is non-existent at the moment. Brazil is a huge country with a huge and growing economy. One cannot operate consulates without first having a embassy, which we have. However, the embassy is in the centre of the country and is some distance from São Paulo so we think having a small mission on the ground will make a significant difference for us.

Kenya is the economic powerhouse of east Africa. We do not have an embassy in Kenya. We are re-opening one that closed many years ago. I think it was back in the 1980s.