Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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87. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reasoning for the decision of the Irish mission in the United Nations to offer save the date to all of the UN ambassadors for a concert (details supplied) in New York in July 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27777/18]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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88. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there is a promotional video being prepared by his Department outlining the pathway to securing a seat on the UN Security Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27778/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 87 and 88 together.

The official launch of Ireland’s campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council will take place at UN Headquarters in New York on 2 July. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste will attend the evening reception. Such formal launches are commonly part of Security Council election campaigns and something which is expected of candidates. The event on 2 July is being organised by Ireland’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, with support from the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters.

In order to maximise the impact of the launch event, the Government has accepted an offer by U2 to provide a gift of a number of tickets to the band’s concert in New York on Sunday, 1 July, for use by representatives of the UN Member States. The concert will allow Ambassadors of the UN Member States to experience one of Ireland’s most well-known cultural exports immediately prior to the campaign launch, building awareness of our candidature. It is not uncommon for countries seeking election to the Security Council to include cultural events as part of their campaign.

In addition to the direct lobbying of Member State representatives by members of the Government, Irish diplomats and others, an important dimension of a Security Council election campaign is how a candidature is communicated. Campaign messaging will focus on Ireland’s contribution to the UN since we joined in 1955. It will aim to contextualise Ireland’s UN engagement as part of how Ireland sees itself in the world – a global island which wants to share our culture and values.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade team working on our candidature are addressing communication aspects relating to the campaign, including the creation of a campaign identity and promotional materials. A short video is currently in production and it is intended to introduce this at the 2 July launch. This will then be used online and across social media to build awareness of Ireland’s candidature. The video will seek to present Ireland as a confident and compassionate member of the UN which seeks to meet our responsibilities internationally. It will outline why the UN is central to Irish foreign policy in the context of our history and values as a nation and, in doing so, will highlight the main areas of Irish contributions to the UN’s work.