Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I did not get a timeframe. We will continue to chase that. The establishment of new embassies and consulates is always welcome. I agree with the approach of expanding Ireland's diplomatic footprint. We are behind many similar-sized states in terms of our diplomatic reach. I welcome the fact that we have been improving that in recent times.

Apart from some of the high-profile postings like the UN, Brussels or London, a very small number of Irish diplomats are posted to individual missions with the number falling far below our peer nations. We have been blessed with the fact that most of our diplomatic core work incredibly hard and represent us very well but the likes of Sweden, Finland and Denmark have, on average, about 16 staff deployed per mission. Out of our 98 missions, 49 have just one diplomat posted and 73 have three or fewer. Has the Government any plans to review staffing levels to ensure that when we have embassies and consulates general, we are making the biggest impact from them?

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