Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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41. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of efforts to double Ireland’s global footprint by 2025; the actions taken to date; and the short, medium and long-term actions that will be taken. [9680/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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'Global Ireland – Ireland’s Global Footprint to 2025', sets out the Government’s ambitions for expanding and deepening our international presence. It includes the expansion of Ireland’s mission network which will deepen our impact across priority regions, provide opportunities to grow our trade and inward investment, strengthen political relationships with our partners, promote our values, and support Irish citizens and our diaspora abroad. A deepened footprint will also enable us to better shape and influence international events in our interests.

In this first phase, the Department committed to opening missions in Wellington, Vancouver, Bogotá, Santiago de Chile, Amman, and Mumbai. The Irish Aid Development office in Liberia has now been upgraded to an Embassy. The second phase of the expansion will see the opening of missions in Cardiff, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Kyiv, Manila and Rabat.

Regarding phase one, Embassy Wellington opened officially in August 2018.

Ireland’s new Consulate General in Vancouver opened in October 2018.

The Embassy in Bogotá is also open, and the Ambassador presented her credentials in February.

There are posted and locally recruited staff also in place in Amman, Mumbai and Santiago de Chile, and these Missions will open on an official basis shortly.

The next phase of expansion will focus on Cardiff, Los Angeles and Frankfurt in 2019, and Embassies in Kiev, Manila and Rabat shortly thereafter.

In addition, my Department is currently undertaking urgent workforce planning which will inform plans for recruitment of new officers both in Ireland and abroad as well as plans for the training, development and up-skilling of officers currently assigned to the Department to meet the objectives of the Global Ireland initiative in 2019 and beyond.