Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In fulfilment of the commitment made in the programme for Government, a two-day conference of Ireland’s heads of mission abroad, entitled Promoting Ireland Abroad, was held in Dublin on 1-2 June 2011. The conference was designed to ensure the heads of mission were fully briefed on the Government’s new approach to promoting and marketing Ireland as a country in which to do business. This was in order to strengthen their capacity to continue their ongoing work in support of the effort to repair Ireland’s international reputation and it was an opportunity for the full team of senior overseas representatives, Irish business leaders and the heads of Irish economic agencies to share best practice in our international economic promotion activity.

The conference provided a valuable opportunity to renew the deep commitment of our diplomatic and consular representatives abroad to the challenging task of promoting Ireland’s interests and restoring our country to its rightful position of global authority and respect. A clear outcome of the conference was the determination that a united front of our embassies, State agencies, business organisations and private companies, working closely together, constitute a powerful force for advancing our interests at this crucial period for the country.

Since then, the Ministers of my Department and I have continued to engage intensively and on an ongoing basis with all ambassadors and embassy staff in promoting Ireland and ensuring our international reputation is restored. Last month I had a video conference with some of our key EU missions to express my thanks and appreciation for all the efforts by missions on the promissory notes issue. We have availed of every opportunity to promote Ireland’s interests, including those presented by trade missions, our chairmanship in office of the OSCE, preparation for and the ongoing Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the EU and the continuing work of building bilateral relations throughout the world. In this, I believe, we have been very successful.

I refer the Deputy to my Department's statement of strategy which sets out the challenges and opportunities from 2011 to 2014. In order to meet these challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities, the Department has been reorganised along a more geographic basis, with new regional units having lead responsibility for managing relations and affording our missions abroad the opportunity for greater input in policy making and coordination. Each regional unit now leads the business planning process for missions within its area. Consultations on business plans take place at the beginning of each year during which heads of division and heads of mission set out their priorities in the context of the Department's overall goals for the coming 12 months. Such consultations are facilitated by video-conferencing. I assure the Deputy that engagement with our ambassadors and our missions continues throughout the year on an ongoing basis and at all levels to ensure the assets of the State are put to best use and give citizens the service and the value for money they deserve.

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