H.E. Mr. Dan Mulhall:

I dislike casual articles in newspapers about ambassadors with silver spoons in their mouths, fluthering around eating Ferrero Rocher and drinking champagne. That was never the reality and is certainly not the reality these days. These days it is all about delivering results and so on. I will give an example of how the world has changed since I first started work. When I started work, if more than five copies of a document were needed, one had to do a stencil. I am now on Twitter. There is no greater contrast than that. I started at a time when every letter commenced with "I am directed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to say". Last year, I gave approximately 64 speeches throughout Germany. I probably gave more in Britain. The role has changed. It has become much more a role of spreading the word about Ireland. In my view the role is to represent and spread the word about Ireland and to help Irish companies to get their foot in the door in order that they can sell their goods and services, thus sustaining jobs and prosperity in this country.