Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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84. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason the NATO flag was displayed at the annual EU Heads of Missions lunch in Ireland, at which the Tánaiste delivered the opening remarks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26259/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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EU Ambassadors resident in Ireland meet collectively on a regular basis, with a wide range of guests normally invited, including Government ministers, members of the opposition and other political, business and civil society figures.

As the current holders of the Presidency, the working lunch for EU Ambassadors in May, to which I was invited, was hosted by the Belgian Ambassador at her residence in Dublin. I always value the opportunity to meet with the Heads of Mission of our EU partners in order to discuss important issues of mutual interest on the EU agenda, as well as wider foreign policy issues.

Along with the majority of Ireland's EU partners with resident Embassies in Dublin, Belgium is a member of both the EU and NATO. Since the early 1990s, NATO has developed a network of contact point embassies to support its relations with partner countries. The current contact point embassy in Ireland is the Embassy of Belgium.

It is, of course, entirely a matter for the Belgian Ambassador to determine which flags to display during events she hosts in her residence, including those of international organisations of which Belgium is a member.