Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

On the matter of the Swedish embassy, I had contact with the Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, who made contact with me in advance of the decision, albeit only 24 hours in advance of the publication of the decision. I expressed my regret at the decision. I conveyed the view we had taken in Ireland that as members of the European Union and as a manifestation of solidarity between member states and a policy objective, there should be some presence of member states in other member states. This comes from the perspective of co-ordinating policies across Europe and so forth.

He explained that he is facing budgetary constraints and additional expenditure in a variety of locations, some relating to security. He was also closing facilities in Bratislava, Luxembourg, Sofia, Dakar and Ljubljana. There were other issues in the Caucuses, the Balkans and Africa and in that context, he made his decision. We do not decide on the basis of what others do. We decide in respect of our strengths. It is a matter for each country to decide where it locates according to its strategic objectives. However, we were disappointed and I articulated that to the Swedish foreign minister.

I have regular contact with embassies and we meet all ambassadors on a regular basis. I often meet them in groups, and I recently met with the African ambassadors for a working lunch, where we discussed diplomatic, political and economic issues. I also had meetings with Latin American ambassadors on similar themes, and on how to enhance relations between our two regions.

We are not just talking about a residence in Ottawa, but an embassy with very substantial conference facilities for use by State agencies such as the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, and Bord Bia to promote goods and services that we want to sell abroad. Canada is a particularly important location for our exports.

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