Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I return to the question of embassies for which the Minister has direct responsibility. Will the Minister outline the timetable for the establishment of the five embassies and will an Ireland House approach, with which he is no doubt familiar, prevail in the process? Such an approach would provide us with the capacity to accommodate not just consular, diplomatic and ambassadorial facilities but also cultural and trade missions which replicate Ireland House activities in more established areas. As Ireland is heavily engaged in the provision of English language training services, it should be possible to use embassy buildings to house such activities. Given the relative strength of our finances, will the Minister indicate if he will persuade the Office of Public Works where practical to purchase rather than rent property?

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