Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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550. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of progress to facilitate exports of beef to Iran; if he has considered the impact the reopening of the embassy in Tehran would have on agrifood exports to Iran; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6810/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Total Irish agri-food exports to Iran in 2017 were around €11.5 million according to the CSO. The majority of this, some €10.25 million, was accounted for by dairy exports.

A veterinary health certificate for the export of beef from Ireland to Iran was agreed in March 2013. However, no exports have occurred yet, due to unfavourable trading conditions, cheaper Brazilian supplies of beef to Iran, and financial barriers. Work is on-going within the EU to devise measures to overcome these financial barriers.

The location of Irish Embassies abroad is a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in the first instance, and these locations are then approved by the Government as a whole. Ireland continues to have full diplomatic relations with Iran, and the Irish Ambassador in Ankara represents Ireland in Iran on a non-resident basis.

The role of my Department is to open up markets for the industry and it is then up to the industry, with the support of my Department and Bord Bia, to avail of these opportunities. However, the actual levels of exports will depend on a range of factors, including global supply and demand dynamics, currency fluctuations and individual customer requirements.