Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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54. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of submissions his Department received based on the public consultation document his Department published on a proposed review of foreign policy and external relations between October 2013 and the deadline for submissions in February 2014; if it received any late submission; if he will provide a full list of the persons and organisations from whom these submissions came; when he expects to be in a position to publish the review; if it will be in the form of another White Paper; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8511/14]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The Review of Foreign Policy and External Relations on which my Department is currently working provided for a broad-based process of consultation, including a call for submissions from members of the public on any aspect of our foreign policy. A period of two months, from 4 December 2013 to 4 February 2014, was provided for the submission of inputs to the review.

In response to this invitation to contribute views, my Department has received 203 submissions from organisations and individuals. Thirteen of these were received after midnight on 4 February.

A list of those organisations that made submissions is attached. In compliance with the Data Protection Acts, my Department sought consent for the publication of submissions, including names of individuals, when inviting inputs to the review. In the time permitted, it has not been possible to provide a list of those individuals from whom consent has been received to disclose their name.

The purpose of the review is to provide an updated statement of Ireland’s foreign policy and to identify a series of recommendations for its conduct, with a view to ensuring that the Government is equipped with the right mix of policies and instruments to promote our values and interests in a complex and changing international environment. I expect to be in a position to finalise the review in the second quarter of this year.

List of organisations from whom submissions to the Review of Foreign Policy and External Relations were received