Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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463. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of times that the Irish Consul General and or Vice Consul in San Francisco have visited Seattle in Washington state to date in 2022; and the purpose of each visit in tabular form. [55366/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland’s Consulate General in San Francisco works closely with the Irish diaspora in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, including in fulfilment of Ireland's Diaspora Strategy 2020-2025. This includes providing support to Irish communities and organisations through the Government’s Emigrant Support Programme, delivering consular assistance to Irish citizens in the Western US, promoting trade and economic opportunities, and ongoing engagement with our increasingly multicultural diaspora.

Seattle is a key city within the geographical responsibility of the Consulate General. Approximately 750,000 people in Washington State identify Irish as their primary heritage. The Irish community is also very active in Seattle, and benefits from the presence of an Irish Honorary Consul.

Building on the deepening economic ties between Washington State and Ireland, Enterprise Ireland (2019) and IDA Ireland (2021) established a presence in Seattle.

Opportunities for the Consulate General in San Francisco to undertake travel through the totality of its consular area over the past two years have been restricted due to the pandemic. However, our Consul General and Vice Consul in San Francisco have undertaken three visits to Seattle, WA so far in 2022. The dates and purposes of each visit are listed in tabular form below.