Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 11: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way in which the recently announced extension of Irish diplomatic services relate to the new EU European external action service; if the continued development of the European external action service will result in an eventual cutback in Ireland's diplomatic representation abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13682/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The European constitution provides for the creation of a European external action service, EEAS, to assist the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs in the fulfilment of his or her mandate. The EEAS cannot be established until after the entry into force of the European constitution, the target date for which is 1 November 2006. Preparatory discussions on its establishment are at an early stage. The President of the Commission and the Secretary General, High Representative for the common foreign and security policy are jointly to submit a progress report to the European Council in June.

It is too early to predict what the exact implications of the creation of the EEAS will be for the Department of Foreign Affairs but there is no reason to expect that it will have a major impact. The constitution stipulates that the EEAS is to work in co-operation with the diplomatic services of the member states and that officials seconded from national diplomatic services are to form part of its staff. It is expected, therefore, that some officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs will be seconded to the EEAS. I also expect that both in Brussels and internationally it will work closely with the Department and with our missions abroad.

However, many of the functions currently exercised by national diplomatic services, including the promotion and protection of national political, economic and cultural interests, will fall outside the remit of the EEAS. Likewise, the EEAS will have no role in regard to Ireland's national development co-operation programme, the administration of which is the primary task of our missions in priority countries.

It is also important to recall that decisions on the Union's external policies and actions will remain for the European Council and the Council to make. The Government will need to remain well informed on, and directly involved in, international political and economic issues and will, as now, continue to require the advice and support of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is heavily dependent on the input of our missions around the world.

Finally, the EEAS will, by definition, have no function in bilateral relations within the European Union or in the formulation of national policies on EU issues. These occupy a substantial proportion of the Department's time and resources. The new embassies to which ambassadors have recently been nominated are in current or future EU member states.