Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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182. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when the new consulate in Manchester will be operational; if other consulates are planned in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29060/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Our new Consulate General in Manchester will be operational from 1 July 2021. I plan to formally open this diplomatic Mission later this year.

To advance preparations for the Mission, a site visit to Manchester and Liverpool was undertaken last week by my officials. They visited the temporary premises that has been secured for the Consulate General, adjacent to Enterprise Ireland's Manchester Office. They also met with local officials and representatives of EU Consulates General based in Manchester.

In March this year, the Government approved the appointment of a Consul General for the North of England and, more recently, a Vice Consul has been appointed to support the work of the Consulate.

The opening of this new Consulate General for the North of England is delivering on our Global Ireland 2025 agenda to double Ireland's global influence and on commitments made in the Programme for Government. It will demonstrate our commitment to strengthening the British-Irish relationship following the UK’s departure from the EU. Working in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, the Consulate General will support the development of Irish commercial relations with UK’s Northern Powerhouse, a region that claims to be Europe’s 10th largest economy. Ireland’s commercial relationship with the UK remains extremely important and the UK is a key market for many Irish firms. Alongside our Embassy in London, the new Consulate will also work to engage with the North of England's dynamic Irish community.

We have been investing in our presence in the UK for some years. In 2019, Ireland's Consulate General in Cardiff was reopened and Enterprise Ireland opened its office in Manchester. Our Consulate General in Cardiff has recently moved to permanent premises and a formal opening for this Mission is also being planned as pandemic restrictions reduce.

The Government is committed to ensuring that our Embassy in London, already Ireland’s largest bilateral Mission, is properly resourced. The Department of Finance, the Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Revenue Commissioners and An Garda Síochána are now part of the Embassy team. The need to further develop Ireland's footprint and presence is being kept under ongoing review.