Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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258. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the dates in 2022 on which the Irish Consul General and or Vice Consul General in Chicago visited Detroit in the State of Michigan; and the purpose of each visit in tabular form. [60392/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland’s Consulate General in Chicago works to promote Ireland's interests in the Midwestern region of the United States. This includes engaging with our active and widespread diaspora community, including by providing support to Irish communities and organisations through the Government’s Emigrant Support Programme, delivering consular assistance to Irish citizens in the Midwest, and promoting trade and economic opportunities in partnership with our State Agencies based in Chicago.

Detroit and the greater state of Michigan are a key priority for the team of the Consulate General. Approximately 7.3 million people across the Midwestern US claim Irish heritage, and 1 million of those people live in Michigan.

Opportunities for the Consulate General in Chicago to undertake travel throughout the totality of its consular area over the past two years have been restricted due to the pandemic none the less our Consul General in Chicago has undertaken one visit to Detroit, MI so far in 2022. The date and purpose of this visit is listed in tabular form below. 

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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259. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the dates in 2022 on which the Irish Consul General and-or Vice Consul General in Atlanta visited Miami; and the purpose of each visit in tabular form. [60393/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The team at the Consulate General of Ireland in Atlanta, currently responsible for seven states in the US Southeast, paid two visits to Miami in 2022, both connected with preparations for the opening of Ireland’s new Consulate General in Miami. The dates and purposes of each visit are listed in tabular form below.

The establishment of the Consulate General in Miami was a key commitment under the Global Ireland programme, which aims to double the scope and impact of Ireland’s global footprint by 2025. Our Consul General in Miami took up duty in October 2022, taking over responsibility for Florida on a phased basis from Consul General Atlanta. Once fully established, the Consulate General in Miami will also take over responsibility for Alabama and Mississippi.

With the opening of the new Consulate General in Miami, Ireland now has a full-time diplomatic presence in the third most populous state in the United States, which has the fourth largest economy and acts as a major bridge between the USA and the Latin America and Caribbean region. The opening of this important new office, brings Ireland's diplomatic network in the US to nine which includes the Embassy in Washington DC and Consulates in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta.