Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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154. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which embassies abroad continue to be actively involved in the promotion of increased volumes of trade with Ireland with particular reference to the aftermath of Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4414/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Embassy network plays a central role in advancing Ireland’s international trade as part of Team Ireland overseas. Embassies and Consulates around the world provide vital support for Ireland’s state enterprise agencies, including by supporting their strategic objectives and activities in overseas markets. The role of the Embassy in supporting Ireland’s trade objectives is particularly pertinent in markets with limited or no state agency presence.

Officers of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade across the Embassy network continuously engage in economic and public diplomacy, to advance Ireland’s prosperity and raise awareness of Ireland as a great place to live, study, work, visit and do business.

The Department’s officers overseas engage with host country Governments and multilateral institutions on a range of trade-related issues, including market access, regulatory compliance, visas, phyto-sanitary issues, and Double Taxation Agreements.

The Embassy network also supports Irish businesses in market, by providing contacts and information, organising Ministerial visits overseas and supporting trade missions, in partnership with the state agencies.

In June 2018, the Government launched the Global Irelandinitiative, whichaims to double the impact and scope of Ireland’s global footprint by 2025. Global Ireland's targets include enhanced global engagement, the expansion of Ireland’s Embassy network and strengthening of Ireland’s state agency presence overseas. Each of these measures will increase Ireland’s international visibility, facilitate market diversification and intensification, and deepen bilateral relations in support of the Government’s economic and political objectives, including in the context of Brexit.

To date, the Government has approved funding for 13 new Embassies and Consulates, which are either already open, or set to open during 2019 or 2020. As part of Global Ireland, in 2018 a new Embassy was opened in Wellington and a new Consulate General was opened in Vancouver. New Embassies will open in Bogotá, Santiago de Chile and Amman in 2019, and new Consulates General will open in Mumbai, Cardiff, Frankfurt and LA. In 2020, new Embassies will open in Kyiv, Manila and Rabat. The Irish Aid office in Monrovia is also being upgraded to an Embassy.

These locations have been chosen based on a range of factors, including their potential to diversify our markets, to grow trade and investment with Ireland, and to enable Irish companies to better take advantage of new opportunities.