Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That seems to be a departure from what the Taoiseach said. In any person's language, doubling is doubling and it is as simple as that. We lag behind comparable European countries like Denmark or Belgium in terms of the size of our network of embassies. When we heard the Taoiseach's announcement, it was something that we welcomed but now we are hearing that doubling does not necessarily mean that. It might mean a consolidation, using offices differently and so on. What I would really like to know is whether the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade was actually made aware in advance that the Taoiseach was going to make the announcement, given that it has massive implications for his Department. Is work underway to identify regions, countries or markets for Ireland to expand into? Have additional resources been allocated for next year to start this doubling of the footprint? The response from the Minister of State today tells me that there is nothing behind this announcement. That is not a great surprise, I might add but if the Taoiseach and the Government are committing to expanding the diplomatic footprint, they must do it and show us the plan. They cannot just announce it when they are abroad to make themselves look good in front of another prime minister. This is too serious. Ireland needs to look further afield, particularly with Brexit happening. We need to be looking at new markets and I would welcome that but we need concrete answers.

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