Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is correct that Ireland currently has 80 diplomatic and consular offices. We have 961 diplomatic staff employed abroad and have relations with 178 different countries. When the Taoiseach speaks about doubling our footprint, that does not necessarily mean doubling the number of offices or doubling the budget. It is about ensuring that what we have currently is working and that we can make things work more efficiently. For example, in a city where we have four or five different offices operating in four or five different buildings, we might be able to make that work better by bringing everybody together and making sure they are connected properly.

In terms of the time frame and making that work, the Department is currently working on a review of what we currently have, what is working and what is not, as well as examining where we can expand our footprint. We expect the initial report to be published by November. I am not sure whether that would go directly to a committee or whether it would be published by the Minister himself, but we should see the initial report by November.

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