Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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387. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there are plans to open a new Irish Consulate General Office in the Algarve area of Portugal. [32223/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government currently has no plans to open a Consulate General in the Algarve area of Portugal.  The Embassy team in Lisbon manages Ireland’s relations with Portugal and provides consular assistance to Irish citizens in Portugal as necessary.

The Global Ireland programme aims to double Ireland's international impact and influence in the period 2018 to 2025, including through an expanded and strengthened diplomatic presence.  Since the launch of the Global Ireland programme in June 2018, nineteen new Missions have been opened or announced to open.  Missions in Kyiv, Manchester, Manila and Rabat opened in 2021 and there have been Government decisions to open a further five new missions in Dakar, Lyon, Miami, Tehran and Toronto.

There is a robust process in considering the expansion of our Mission network, involving a range of factors, including national, citizen, political and economic priorities.