Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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1067. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the Irish embassies that have an agricultural attaché; and if there are plans to increase the number. [9771/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has 16 agricultural attachés stationed at Irish embassies. The embassies that currently have an agricultural attaché and the number of such attachés stationed in each specific embassy are shown in the table below. Attaché posts are typically resourced and deployed at First Secretary level, which is the equivalent to Assistant Principal Officer.

Whilst this is indicative of the majority of posts below, two of the resources referenced, for posts in Brussels and London, are deployed at Counsellor level, which is equivalent to Principal Officer, reflecting DAFM business need priorities emanating from and attached to those critical posts. There are no current plans for variation in the numbers indicated in the table below, but the complement of attache posts is kept under review.